349 
M 



SCHOOL SURVEY SUGGESTION 



ALFALFA COUNTY 
GRADY COUNTY 
WAGONER COUNTY 



1918 



Prepared by E. A. DUKE 
Rural School Supervisor 



Issued by R. H. WILSON 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction 



OKLAHOMA 



SCHOOL SURVEY SUGGESTION 



ALFALFA. COUNTY 
GRADY COUNTY 
WAGONER COUNTY 



1918 



Prepared by E. A. DUKE 
Rural School Supervisor 



Issued by R. H. WILSON 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction 



OKLAHOMA 






'^. of D. 
I/.N 30 1919 



^'iniic: itf ©klaJtatttct 



R. H. WILSON, Superintendent 
E. N. COLLETTE, asst superintendent 

May 15, 1918. 
TO THE PUBLIC : 

Agriculture is the principal industry in the three counties re- 
ported in this pamphlet. But conditions in these typical counties 
are not the same because of differences in crops, races, topography 
and taxable valuations. As a result, the problems of school admin- 
istration are not the same in each county. 

Educational opportunities are not equalized in the three coun- 
ties or in the several districts of the same county. The opportuni- 
ties as between counties and districts should be and could be equal- 
ized. 

It frequently happens that one district with few children and 
small taxable valuation has a well equipped school building, a long 
term of school and a high tax rate, while an adjoining district with 
a large valuation and many children maintains a short term of 
school in a poorly equipped building on a low rate of taxation; or 
vice versa. Different school boards and different school commu- 
nities have varying standards or ideals. 

The towns, villages and centralized schools afford high school 
training, while the one-teacher and two-teacher schools cannot offer 
accredited high school training. More than one half of the pupils 
cannot secure secondary or high school training in their home dis- 
tricts as they are organized at present. 

The purpose of this publication is to suggest a plan under 
which all children in the state may be provided with adequate 
school facilities. In order to make the plan easily understood, it 
has been applied specifically to three counties. But the publication 
is issued as a suggestion to all counties in the state. 

Many of the groups outlined have valuations higher than other 
consolidated and union graded districts in the state and could sup- 
port splendid centralized schools. 

The cities, towns, consolidated and union graded districts 
provide superior educational facilities for the children. Such 



4 School Survey Suggestion 

schools can easily be standardized and improved. The develop- 
ment of these schools in the past has demonstrated that this is true. 

Our city school systems have made a wonderful growth during 
the past ten years. 

Educational opportunity in the country should be equal to that 
in the city. There is no valid reason why pupils living in homes 
separated by an arbitrary school district line should have such un- 
equal educational opportunities. 

The child who groAvs up in a poor district, or in a district where 
the people are niggardly and unprogressive, is just as important 
to this state and nation as is a child who grows up in a district 
where conditions are the reverse. Living in such a community, the 
child needs the protection of the law more. 

The only remedy for the conditions set forth in this bulletin is 
to follow the example of a great many other states by making the 
county the unit of school government in accordance with the plan 
which has been submitted to the last two legislatures and which was 
turned down by them because they said it was undemocratic. 

Everyone says that he wants to give the country child as good 
an education as the city child, but this cannot be done until you give 
him as good a school and teacher, and these cannot be had until you 
give him a f-'chool system as well organized and as well administered 
The present small school district school system compares with the 
county unit system just about like the old fashioned bull tongue 
plow compares with the modern cultivator. The farmer has sub- 
stituted riding cultivators for walking plows, throughbred for scrub 
stock, the automobile for the buggy, the cream separator for the 
chum, the tractor and truck for the team, but he has left his little 
one-room school as it Avas when his grandfather knew it. And we 
have not been able to get better school legislation for the rural 
children, because legislators have been afraid of their farmer con- 
stituents. 

R. H. WILSON 
State Superintendent of 
Public Instruction 



FOREWORD 



State Superintendent R. H. Wilson recently issued a bulletin 
entitled ''Rural, Centralized, Graded and Model schools'' in which 
attention is called to the fact that Avhere consolidated districts are 
organized without refrence to a general county-wide plan certain 
little weak districts ultimately find themselves cut off in such a way 
that they cannot consolidate. It has been customary in the past for 
the county superintendents to wait until the consolidation "spirit 
moves" in a community, or group of districts, and then to go forth 
and assist those districts to unite. As a result of this watchful 
Avaiting policy, we have in many cX)unties little districts that have 
been so hemmed in by consolidations that they are doomed to remain 
little and weak districts. 

School improvements should have in view the welfare of all the 
pupils in the county rather than the welfare of a chosen few. The 
child living in a poor district is entitled to as much consideration as 
the child living in a rich district. It is not neighborly, in fact is rather 
selfish, for groups of wealthy districts to consolidate in such a way 
as to make it impossible for the less prosperous districts to better 
their condition. A county wide plan carefully mapped out and fol- 
lowed will prevent such injustice as has resulted from sporadic con- 
solidation in the past. 

This School Survey Suggestion is printed and distributed, there- 
fore as a suggestion to all county superintendents and people in the 
state, as well as to the people in Alfalfa. Grady and Wagoner 
Counties. It is not expected that the suggestions contained herein 
will be acceptable to every one concerned, but if they lead to a better 
general plan of county- wide reorganization and redistricting in these 
three counties, or in other counties, the publication will serve its 
purpose. 

During the next school year, each county superintendent in the 
state should make an inventory of the equipment and needs of each 
scnool district at the time the school is visited. It is suggested that a 
county plan be worked out along the lines suggested herein. Each 
superintendent having an intimate knowledge of local conditions 
should be able to arrange a better plan for his county than any other 
person can arrange for it. The plan as worked out should be pub- 
lished and distributed to the people in the county, either in bulletin 
form or as a series of articles published in the county papers. 

Future consolidations should conform to a county-wide plan. 

REASONS FOR REPORTING THREE COUNTIES. 

In Oklahoma conditions vary to such an extent that a plan 
which would be feasible in one county would hardly prove successful 



S School Survey Suggestion 

in another section of the state. School districts were organized in 
Oklahoma Territory prior to statehood; in Indian Territory the 
school districts were organized after statehood. Topographical 
conditions are not the same in all parts of the state. The crops 
raised have an influence on school attendance and spirit. A 
mixture of races has its influence on the administration of the 
schools. The maintenance of the school is effected by the amount 
of non-taxable land in the district. The educational ideals of the 
people, influenced as they are by the states from which they came, 
are not identical. The amount of progress that has been made in 
organizing consolidated and union graded schools in the several 
counties is not the same. These are some of the reasons that led 
to the selection of three counties in the state to be used as a basis 
of this suggested plan of county- wide reorganization. 

The variations in the three counties are briefly as follows : 
Alfalfa County is in the grain belt where the crops do not interfere 
with school attendance. The school districts in this county M'^ere 
organized a short while after the opening to white settlement of the 
Cherokee Strip September 16, 1893. The county is generaly level 
and adapted to consolidation. There are no negroes in the county. 
The population of this county was drawn largely from the northern 
states. Practically all of the land is taxable. Three consolidated 
districts have been organized in this countv. The one teacher school 
predominates, there being only two rural common school districts in 
the county employing two teachers. At a rule, the school district 
bonds issued for building purposes have matured and been paid, 
and the school houses are about worn out. There is one teacherage 
in this county. 

Grady County is located near the central part of the state where 
cotton and grain are the principal crops groMTi. The cotton crop 
interferes with the school attendance. The western one-fourth of 
the county was formerly a part of Caddo and Comanche Counties, 
Oklahoma Territory, and the school districts in this section were 
organized prior to the time Oklahoma became a state, 1907 ; the east- 
ern part of the county was formerly included in Indian Territory 
and the school districts in this section were not organized until 
after 1907. 

The topography and valuation in the several districts of this 
county are such that all are not adapted to consolidation. The 
population consists of Whites, Indians and Negroes, drawn largely 
from the southern states. A great deal of the land is not taxable 

One union graded district and two consolidated districts have 
been organized in this county. Thirty-nine of the rural districts 
have two-teacher schools in which from one to two years of high 
school work is offered . High school instruction is provided for a 
large per cent of the pupils in this county. Not more than one-half 



Foreword 7 

of the districts in this county maintain one-teacher schools arid less 
than one-fourth of the pupils in the county attend one-teacher 
schools. The school district bonds being of later issue than those in 
Alfalfa County have not as a rule matured and been paid off. The 
schoolhouses being of more recent construction are generally bet- 
ter and more modern than those in older counties, but the box car 
type of building predominates here. There are fourteen teacher- 
ages in the county. 

Wagoner County is located in the eastern part of Oklahoma where 
cotton and grain are the principal crops grown. As in Grady 
County, cotton interferes with the school attendance. This county 
was formerly included in Indian Territory and the school districts 
were not organized until after 1907. There is considerable rough 
territory in this county. The population consists of Whites, 
Indians and Negroes drawn from all sections of the country. 
A great deal of the land is not taxable. No union grade or con- 
solidated schools have been organized in this county. Only three 
of the rural districts maintain two-teacher schools. The school 
district bonds have not yet matured and been paid. The school- 
houses are in a poor condition, the box car type predominating. 
There is one teacherage in this county. 

Acknowledgment 

Supt. Chas C. Wolfe of Alfalfa County, Supt. Moman H. 
Shepard of Grady County, and Supt. Fern H. Sizer of Wagoner 
County, accompanied me at the time inspections of the schools in 
their respective counties were made. They co-operated with me 
fully by making it possible for me to secure the information upon 
.which this report is based. Each of these superintendents is 
striving hard to improve school conditions and is entitled to the 
hearty co-operation of every person living in the county. 

But in justice to these superintendents, I take pleasure in 
stating that they should not be held responsible for the suggestions 
made herein. I alone am responsible for them. 

The illustrations used in this bulletin were furnished |3y the 
respective counties. 

E. A. DUKE, Rural School Supervisor. 



8 School Survey Suggestion 

ALFALFA COUNTY 

This county is one of the northern tier of counties almost equi- 
distant from the eastern and western boundaries of Oklahoma. It 
lies just south of the Kansas state line, east of Woods County, west 
of Grant County and north of Major County. The shape of the 
county is that of a rectangle thirty-seven miles long from north to 
south and twenty-four miles wide from east to west. With the ex- 
ception of 28 square miles waste land in the Great Salt Plains, the 
888 square miles of area comprises splendid agricultural land. 

This county was formerly a part of Woods County, which was 
one of the counties organized from the Cherokee strip at the time it 
was opened for settlement and made part of Oklahoma Territory. 
Sept. 16, 1893. The present school districts were organized and 
many of the present schools buildings were erected shortly after the 
opening. 

Alfalfa County, as a separate municipality, came into existance 
at the advent of statehood, November 16, 1907. 

The federal census of 1910 credited the county with 18,138 
souls. The population at this time is probably greater than 20,000. 

Only five negroes reside in this county and no Indian tribes have 
their domicile within its bounds. The population is almost wholly 
white. It is the type of a county where the population is homoge- 
neous and where there is no necessity for separate schools. To this 
extent, the conditions there are ideal. 

There are a few^ sand hills in the northeastern part of the county, 
the northwestern, central and southern parts consist of level prairie, 
with the exception of a narrow strip about two miles wide extend- 
ing across the county two miles north of Goltry and Helena. The 
Salt Fork of the Arkansas River enters the county from the west 
just twelve miles south of the Oklahoma-Kansas line and flows 
southeast to the point where it enters Grant County sixteen and one- 
half miles south of the state line. There are several creeks in the 
county but all are bridged so they present no obstacles to travel. 

The county is traversed by four railroads The Atchison 
Topeka and Santa Fe (Santa Fe), the Chicago Rock Island and 
Pacific (Rock Island), The St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco), 
and the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient (Orient). The following 
toMnis and villages are located on these railroads: Cherokee, wliieh 
is the county seat; Carmen, Helena, Jet, Lambert, Driftwood. 
Burlington, Byron, Ingersoll, Goltry, Aline and Amorita. 

It is strictly an agricultural county. Grain, hay and livestock 
are the products. There is no cotton to interfere with school atten- 
dance. A large proportion of the farmers OAvn their farms. 

The taxable valuation of all property in the county is as fol- 
lows: 



Alfalfa County 9 

Real Estate $17,691,178.00 

Personal 3,495,232.00 

Public Service 3,923,215.00 

Total $25,109,625.00 

SCHOOL ORGANIZATION. 

The county is divided into 93 school districts. There are 285, 
or more, school district officers. In 79 of the districts, one-teacher 
schools are maintained. There are two districts that employ two 
teachers each, and twelve districts that employ three or more 
teachers each. These latter are consolidated, village, and town 
schools. No high school work is offered in 81 districts. 

The enumeration of scholastics in the county January, 1917, 
was 5,383. The enrollment in the schools during the year closing 
June 30, 1917, was 4,389 and the average daily attendance during 
the same time was 3,637. Of the scholastic enumerated, 2,341 
live in consolidated, village and town districts where some high 
school work is offered and 3,042 live in districts that provide no 
high school training in the home school. The enrollment in the 
graded schools of consolidated, village, and town districts was 2,097 
for the year closing June 30, 1917, and the average attendance was 
1,770. The enrollment in the ungraded rural schools for the same 
year was 2,292 and the average attendance was 1,867. 

The consolidated, village and town districts have levied $80,778 
to provide schools during the current year for 2,341 persons of 
school age and the rural districts will pay $62,140 during the same 
time to provide schools for 3,042 scholastics. In other words, the 
districts having graded schools have planned to spend $34.50 for 
each person enumerated, while the rural people have planned to 
spend .$20.42 for each person enumerated in the rural districts that 
provide the ungraded schools. 

The approved estimates for teachers' salaries are as follows: 
For the 83 teachers employed in rural districts, $41,139; for the 
81 teachers employed in the consolidated, village and town schools, 
$53,870. The average monthly salaries paid teachers in the county 
as a whole is $69.10; the average in the graded schools being $72.93 
and in the rural ungraded schools $65.24. District 17 pays the 
loM^est monthly salary, $40.00: District 46, Cherokee pays the 
highest, $125.00. 

Fifty-four of the rural teachers are serving their first year in 
their present positions and twenty of these had had no previous 
experience as teachers when their schools opened last September. 
There are no third grade teachers employed in the graded schools. 

Stella Friends Academy, located in a rural community five 
miles northeast of Cherokee, is the only private school of note in 



10 



School Survey Suggestion 




WASTED HuH:st:t'j\\hjH SCHOOL BUILDJa^ .aaL- ajI.ANS OF 
TRANSPORTATION. DISTRICT NO. 94. 

the county. This academy furnishes high school facilities for 
rural pupils in that section of the county. 

Under the present transfer law, pupils transferred from one 
district to another have their tuition paid by the district in which 
they reside. The provisions of this law were not generly under- 
stood at the time when transfers were made during June, 1917, and, 
as a result many pupils in the high school are forced to pay their 




CONSERVATION OF HORSEPOWER— TRANSPORTATION AT LAMBERT. 



Alfalfa County 



11 



own tuition this year. Next year these pupil, will no doubt 
apply for transfers in time to have their districts pay this tuition 
for them. During this school year the rural districts are paying 
$3,993 as transfer fees, or tuition, for pupils who were regularly 
transferred to districts maintaining graded schools. The enroll- 
ment in the high school grades of seven grade schools reported 
was 480 and 218 of these pupils were residents of other districts. 

The districts maintaining graded schools levy a higher millage 
tax, upon the average, than do the rural districts. It is interesting 
to note in this connection that the consolidated districts maintain 
their schools on a lower rate of taxation than that levied in the 




THE NEW WAY— TRANSPORTATION AT DRIFTWOOD. 



good town and village schools. The rates levied in districts employ- 
ing three teachers or more are as follows : 
No. District Town No. Teachers Rate of Levy 

1 Consolidated, Burlington 4 4. mills. 

2 Consolidated, Driftwood 5 7. mills. 

3 Consolidated, Lambert 8 6.5 mills. 

14 District, Amorita '. 3 4.8 mills. 

23 District, Byron 4 5. mills. 

40 District, Ingersoll 4 8. mills. 

46 District, Cherokee 18 9.2 mills. 

65 District, Jet 7 • 12.4 mills. 

77 District, Carmen ...: 13 7. mills. 

86 District, Goltry, 5 10. mills. 

89 District, ' Helena ..: 8 15. mills. 

97 District, Aline 5 15. mills. 



12 School Survey Suggestion 

The three consolidated districts furnish transportation as 
required by law and maintain their graded schools on a tax rate low- 
er than that levied by the average village and town district. Any of 
the rural groups outlined in this survey-suggestion can do the 
same. The farmer can provide a good graded school for his 
children at a lower rate of taxation than the village and town 
districts must levy to support their schools. 

During the month of November, 1917, accompanied by the 
County Superintendent Charles C. Wolfe, I inspected 58 schools in 
the coimty, including 47 one-teacher schools, 2 two-teacher schools. 
3 consolidated and 6 town and village schools employing three or 
more teachers. In addition to the pei*sonal inspection of schools 
in all sections of the county, reports were received from all districts 
not visited except one \allage school, Ingersoll, and 5 one-teacher 
schools in districts 48, 82, 91, 95 and 99. The teachers in the.'^o 
districts either did not receive the report blanks sent them by mail 
or they ignored the request for information. Several of the reports 
were incomplete as to certain items. 

In 10 graded Xovm, village and consolidated schools, and in 70 
one-teacher rural schools the enrollment in the first eight grades 
was as follows: 

Grade 1st. 2nd. 3rd. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th. 8th. Total 
Town 292 161 158 165 178 159 142 198 1453 
Rural 343 171 186 218 183 185 162 176 1623 



Total 635 332 344 383 361 344 304 374 3076 
The rural enrollment is greater than the town enrollment in all 
grades except the eighth. This is due to several causes: 1st. A 
large number of rural children go to the toAvn school to take the 
eight grade work ; 2nd. There being no high school in the district to 
act as an incentive, pupils do not finish course ; 3rd, Rural children 
outgrow the school before they complete the course of study; 4th, 
There is nothing in the little one room school to hold their interest. 

.The high school enrollment in 7 town, village and consolidated 
districts was 485, of Avhich number 218 were pupils Avho live in rural 
districts offering no high school facilities and who were paying 
their own tuition or Avho had been transferred and were having theii- 
tuition paid for them by their districts. 

There are 93 grades of one pupil each, 101 grades having only 
tAvo pupils each, 21 grades having eight or more pupils each, and 
only 3 grades having ten or more pupils enrolled in the rural schools 
of '.he county. The average number of daily recitations in the one- 
teacher schools is 30, the highest number is 37. Small classes, 
absence of rivalry and short recitation periods lead to an absence of 
school spirit and enthusiasm necessary to hold the interest of the 
adolescent child. 



Alfalfa County 13 

28 of 70 one-teacher schools have 8 grades enrolled. 

17 of 70 one-teacher schools have 7 grades enrolled. 

14 of 70 one-teacher schools have 6 grades enrolled. 

6 of 70 one-teacher schools have 5 grades enrolled. 

4 of 70 one-teacher schools have 4 grades enrolled. 

1 of 70 one-teacher schools has a teacher, but no pupils en- 
rolled. 

SUMMARY. 

The following general information was compiled from obser- 
vation notes and reports made at the time the schools were visited: 

1. Fourteeia districts have no water supply on the grounds. 
Several have wells and cisterns with wood covers in such a state of 
decay that the water drains back into the well. A large number of 
wells and cisterns are provided with concrete covers. In the 
interest of health, concrete covers should be provided for all wells 
and cisterns. 

2. Tw^enty-three of the school sites are fenced and trees have 
been planted on eighteen. 

3. In only four districts are the outside privies provided with 
screens and in forty-six of the districts these privies have pits, but 
in no district inspected had the pits been treated to make them 
odorless or the privies made fly tight. Each school district board 
should take this matter up with the county superintendent, who -will 
instruct them how to take care of these outbuildings. 

4. Practically all of the schools have some form of playground 
equipment. 

5. There are 77 one-room school houses in the countv, 4 two- 
room houses, and 13 houses having three or more rooms. In two of 
the 4 districts having two-room buildings only one teacher is 
employed. There is one teaeherage in the county. 

6 Only two of the 77 one-room schools are lighted properly. 
The building west of Cherokee in district No. 45. is the most moriern. 

The buildings in many districts will need to be replaced or 
repaired at an early date. Directors should consult the county 
superintendent before building new houses or repairing the old ones. 
Only eleven rural buildings have entrance halls and only ten have 
cloakrooms, several of them have both entrance hall and cloak- 
rooms. Only one buildiiiff in the county has a cupboard built and 
screened in for the protection of the childrens' lunches. There are 
in these schools many unused bookcases with doors broken off that 
could easily be converted into lunch cupboards be placing screen 
doors on them. 

7. Five of these schools have no window shades. Many of 
them have no sash curtains over tho lower windows. 

8. One district has recently bought adjustable desks. Sev- 



14 School Survey Suggestion 

eral have non-adjustable desks too large for a number of the 
pupils enrolled and too small for others. Double desks are found 
in about three-fourths of the districts and single desks in the others. 

9. Many of the schools have insufficient blackboard space and 
in many others the blackboards are so high that they are of not 
much benefit to the smaller children. 

10. Twenty-two of the rural schools have modern heaters, the 
others are heated by stoves of the old type that furnish no ventil- 
ation or uniform temperature for all parts of the room. 

11. Eleven districts have sanitary water coolers. 

12. Fifty-five districts have maps, fifty have globes, forty- 
seven have agricultural charts, eight have reading charts, four have 
physiological charts, and two have bird charts. In several districts 
the boards have purchased expensive charts and nothing else in 
the way of equipment. 

13. Thirty-five districts have no library books, twenty-two 
districts have library books that are too far advanced for any of 
the pupils enrolled, therefore these libraries are of no value to the 
school. Only fifteen districts have provided library books for the 
primary grades. Directors should permit the teachers to select 
library books, in order to avoid such mistake;^, as liave i>een made in 
the past. For instance, seven of these districts had in the library 
nothing but expensive encyclopedias, three of them having as many 
as three expensive sets each bought from a persistent agent who 
would not take ''no" for an answer. 

14. Eighteen rural schools do not own a United States flag. 
The flag was not displayed in seven districts that own flags. 

15. There are a great many organs in the schools, a few pianos, 
and seven Victorolas. The musical instruments were usually found 
to be out of tune. It is suggestive that Victorolas or Grafanolas be 
purchased and a system of exchanging records be devised under 
which several' districts may buy a few records each and organize a 
circuit whereby each district may have an opportunity during the 
year to use all of the records belonging to the several districts. 

16. In two rural one-room schools, domestic science equipment 
has been provided. In one such district manual training equipment 
has been provided. 

CONCLUSION. 

It is apparent that the rural schools of this county, which is 
more favorably situated and circumstanced than the majority of 
the counties in the state, do not meet the needs of the present day 
There are too many weak districts, too many district officers, too 
great a waste in duplication of equipment and in bad judgment 
shown in buying unnecessary equipment,^ while the school actually 



Alfalfa County 



15 




MAP OF ALFALFA COUNTY SHOWING SUGGESTED GROUPING OF 
DISTRICTS. GROUP FOURTEEN IS NOW CONSOLIDATED 

DISTRICT NO. 4. 



16 School Survey Suggestion 

suffers for the want of a few of the essentials. Above all there is 
too great a waste of time both on the part of the teachers and 
pupils. The lack of high school advantages close at home cause 
too many of the pupils to drop out of school before they complete 
the eighth grade course. Too many of those who enter the town 
high schools are over-age showing that somewhere down in the one- 
room rural school they have lost several years from their school 
lives because of short terms and short recitation periods. The 
suggestions that follow should be given more than passing atten- 
tion, 

CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

No. 1 No 2. No. 3 

Burlington Driftwood Lambert 

Area (approximate square miles) 221/4 25 401/2 

Enumeration, 1917 141 151 268 

Enrollment, 1917 133 158 223 

Valuation of taxable property 

1917-18 $836,337.00 $977,517.00 $1,442,073.00 

Gen. Levy (mills.) 1917-18 4 7 G^U 

Total Est. approved, 1917-18 5,129.00 9,002.00 10,400.00 

Est. for transportation, 1917-18 1,620.00 1,620.00 3,200.00 

Est. for other expenses, 1917-18 3,509.00 7,382.00 7,200.00 

Est. cost per child, 1917-18 38.39 56.97 46.64 

Length of term in months 9 9 ' 9 

Cost per month for each child 

Enrolled, 1917-18 4.26 6.33 5.18 

Cost per mo. (not including 

transportation) 1917-18 2.92 5.43 2.98 

Number of drivers employ- 
ed 1917-18 4 4 8 

Average monthly salaries of 

drivers. 1917-18 45.00 48.75 46.50 

Number of teachers employ- 
ed, 1917 4 5 8 

Average monthly salaries of 

teachers, 1917-18 72.50 80.20 73.25 

Enrollment Nov. 1917, Primary 

Grade 1 15 15 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 1st grade 13 11 19 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 2nd grade 11 10 17 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917. 3rd grade 13 8 14 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 4th grade 15 10 18 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 5th grade 15 8 17 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 6th grade 6 5 12 

En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 7th grade 11 8 12 



Alfalfa County 



17 



16 


7 


26 


8 


12 


25 


6 


13 


19 





8 


5 





7 


6 


127 


123 


190 


9 


9 


7 



En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 8th grade 
En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 9th grade 
En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 10th grade 
En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 11th grade 
En'lm'nt Nov. 1917, 12th grade 

Total November 15, 1917 

Pupils from other districts 

CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT NUMBER ONE 
(BURLINGTON) 

This district has a four room schoolho.use located on a block or 
more' of land in the town of Burlington. There are two unscreened 
toilets on the schood site. These should be moved a greater dis- 
tance from the water supply and made sanitary. The building is 
improperly lighted, several of the rooms having windows on three 




CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL AT BURLINGTON. 



sides. There are no cloakrooms, window shades, curtains or equip- 
ment for agriculture, manual training and domestic science. The 
building is heated by furnace and cannot be ventilated except by 
means of the windows. The double desks, blackboards, teachers 
desks and chairs are in fair condition. The school needs more 
dictionaries and library books, lunch closets, water coolers, or 
drinking fountains. 

Two homemade wagons, one Ford truck and one Ford touring 
car are used to furnish transportation for the pupils. The Ford 
truck covers a route six miles long, making the trip in from forty 
to fifty minutes. Each driver in this district is paid a monthly 



18 School Survey Si (.cestion 

salary of $45 . The touring car makes Iavo trips in the forenoon 
and two in the afternoon. 

Very little high school work can be done in this district as long 
as only four teachers are employed, because the enrollment in the 
lower grades is so great that at least three teachers must te as- 
signed those grades. The people of the district are making a great 
mistake in running a cheap school. 

Only fourteen pupils Avere enrolled in the high school on the 
date of my visit, November 13, 1917, and nine of these were from 
outside the district. 

This district should be enlarged and the people should attempt 
to provide a good school for their children, rather than a cheap 
school. 

CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT NUMBER TWO 
(DRIFTWOOD) 

This district has two school buildings, one with five rooms 
and one with one room, making six rooms in all. Five teachers are 
employed during the present school year 1917-18. The toilets are 
screened and provided with pits. There are no cloakrooms In the 
main building, but shields have been provided for coats and wraps. 
Four Waterman AVaterbury heaters provide heat and ventilation for 
four rooms, while a radiator stove is used in the other. 

This school has good blackboards, teachers' desks and chairs, 
maps, globes and single desks. The library has 312 books for all 
grades and these are in good condition. The school has three 
Encyclopedias. The school has spent $23 for subscription to cur- 
rent magazines for this school year. 

Five teachers are employed in this district, one being assigned 




DRIFTWOOD CONSOLIDATKD SCHOOL 



Alfalfa County 



19 



to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades, one to the 4th, 5th and 6th grades, 
while three teachers teach the 7th, 8th and high school grades. In 
this way high school work can be done. The school is accredited 
i"or 15 units. The p\i])ils in the lower grades recite from one to two 
hours each day, while pupils in the 7th and 8th grades have aboW 
three hours of actual recitation work each day. The high school 
students have recitation periods of 45 minutes each. The enroll- 
ment in high school November 13, 1917 was forty, or one third of the 
entire enrollment in the school, eight of whom were transferred to 
this school from adjoining districts. 

A Ford truck, costing $710 complete, is used to haul about 
twenty-five children over a route IOI/2 miles long,making the trip 
in an average of fifty minutes. Two homemade wagons and one 
wagon purchased from the manufacturers of school vans furnish 
conveyance for children on the other three routes. 

The people of this district are trying to build their school up to 
a high standard and they Avill be able to do so. 

CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT NUMBER THREE 
(LAMBERT) 

This is the largest consolidated school in Alfalfa County, in 
area, school population, taxable valuation and number of teachers 
employed. It has a splendid school building, having eleven rooms 
and ranking among the best of the school buildings in the county. 




LAMBERT CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 



20 School Survey Suggestion 

About three-fourths of the pupils enrolled in the high school ride to 
school in the vans showing that farmers' children in this section of 
the county take advantage of the excellent oportunity offered them 
to secure high school training. 

The primary grade pupils have a teacher who devotes the entire 
day to them. The pupils in the primary grades in the county 
cannot do independent and individual work in school, so it will be 
granted that such beginners working under the constant super- 
■\asion of a trained teacher of primary pupils ought to do better 
work than can be done by such pupils in one-teacher schools where 
the teacher cannot devote more than one-half hour to them each 
day. The other teachers in the grade department have two grades 
each so the pupils in each grade have the benefit of the teacher's 
guidance during at least one-half of the day. Standard work is 
done in the high school department. 

A weekly paper is published by the pupils in this school. There 
is a parent-teacher association organized and a lyceum course was 
offered during this year. This school, as a community center, is 
a valuable asset to both old and young in the district. 

Four of the eight Avagons are driven by advanced pupils. The 
monthly salaries of drivers this year are as follows: $50, $55, $55 
$50, $52. $44, $3(;. $30. The number of pupils hauled in each wagon 
are as follows: 26. 22. 25, 24, 22, 25, 8, 8. 



Alfalfa County 



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22 School Survey Suggestion 

By cuting off that part of district 16 situated in Byron 
To\niship, the area of this group is reduced to 37 square miles and 
the valuation is reduced to approximately $450,000. The enumer- 
ation will also be slightly reduced. 

The group, as outlined, contains only 37 square miles. A union 
graded school can be located in this group so that it will not be 
farther than six and one-half miles from the most distant corner of 
the district. By moving to a central point the school houses now 
jsed by districts Number 2 and Number 17, and leaving the other 
schools on their present sites, it would not be necessary at present to 
employ more teachers than are now employed. The principal of 
the central school could teach the seventh, eighth and ninth grade 
pupils of the entire district and the assistant teacher could teach 
the pupils of the first six grades living near the central school. The 
schools now used by districts 1, 3, 16 and 18 could be kept open for 
pupils up to the seventh grade. At present, this type of school 
would cost very little more than the present schools are costing. 

While this group has sufficient area, valuation and population 
to organize a consolidated district, it is suggested that a union 
graded district would prove less burdensome because of the dif- 
ficulties involved in hauling pupils over sandy roads, 

GROUP TWO. 

Dist. 4 Dist. 5 Dist. 6 Total 

Area (sq. mi.) . OVs 6 7% 231^ 

Valuation, 1917 $149,207.00 $174,665.00 $235,180.00 $559,052.00 

Gen. Levy (mills) 5 3.8 3 

Approved estimate 840.00 735.00 855.00 2,430.00 

Enumeration, 1917 41 25 58 124 

Enrollm't, 1916-17 37 16 40 93 

Estimated cost per 

pupil, 1917 22.69 45.94 21.37 26.13 

Number of teachers 

employed 1113 

This group is made up of three small districts and has an area 
of less than 25 square miles. But since the valuation is in excess of 
$500,000, a consolidated district may legally be formed. A union 
graded district, hoAvever would probally be best suited to this 
group at this time, as one extra room and one extra teacher at the 
central school in District No. 5 would be all the expense necessary 
to undertake the first year of high school work during the first two 
years. An additional teacher will be needed later, as the high 
school department becomes larger and more extensive. 

No child need be located more than six miles from the central 
school in this district. 



Alfalfa County 23 

RIVERSIDE DISTRICT NO. 7. 

Mary Poison, Teacher 
Grounds and Outbuildings: 

Site one acre, sloping to front, two toilets not screened and 
without pits, fuel house in poor condition, no trees or shrubs on 
school ground, no walks to schoolhouse or outbuildings, water 
supplied from cistern with good concrete cover, a good giant stride 
is the only playground equipment, a stable with stalls for four 
horses, three horses and vehicles on ground November 13, 1917. 
School Building-: 

Painted, but not recently, good concrete platform in front, 
good foundation, no entrance hall or cloakrooms, improperly lighted 
by eight windoAvs, four on each side. 
Equipment : 

Non-adjustable window shades, sash curtains, good blackboards, 
21 double and 12 single desks, teacher's desk and chair in fair 
condition, two good recitation benches, two chairs for visitors, an 
old style heater with jacket, thermometer, one case of maps, a good 
globe, dictionary in fair condition, four volumes of Practical 
Refrence Library, six volumes of Mc Cauley's History of England, 
and no other library books, reading, agricultural and physiological 
charts, bookcase with one door off, organ, no framed pictures, flag 
not displayed, basin for lavatory but no soap or towels, no screened 
lunch closet, no equipment for domestic science or manual training. 

Organization : 

One teacher, first year, 13 boys and 14 girls, six grades, no boys' 
and girls' clubs, twenty-five recitations daily no high school work. 

(See Group Three) 

FRIENDSHIP DISTRICT NO. 8. 

Helen Woodward, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Level site on one acre (fenced), two toilets without screens or 
pits located too near the well which furnishes water, new wooden 
curb on well, good fuel house, no trees, no walks, a stable with stalls 
for six horses, three horses and three vehicles on ground day school 
was inspected, teeter-totter only piece of playground equipment. 
School Building: 

Painted, but not recently, good foundation, concrete plat- 
form, two doors in front, no entrance hall or cloakrooms, im- 
properly lighted by eight windows, four on each side. 
Equipment : 

Non-adjustable window shades, sash curtains, blackboards in 
fair condition but insufficient and too high from floor, double desks 



24 



School Survey Suggestion 



poorly arranged, teacher's desk and chair, two good recitation 
benches, modem heater, one case of maps, no drinking fountain 
or cooler, no globe, no library, no framed pictures, flag not displayed, 
organ, basin for lavoratory, bookcase, no screened lunch closet, a 
dictionary, agricultural chart, no equipment for domestic science 
or manual training. 
Organization: 

One teacher (first year) ; 12 boys and 18 girls ; thirty-three 
recitations daily ; all grades up to and including the eighth, no liigh 
school work. 

(See Group Three) 



CIRCLE DISTRICT NO. 9. 

Victoria Marsh, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Level site of one acre enclosed w itli woven wire fence ; twenty- 
five black locust trees in uncared for condition; two good toilets; 
good coal house ; good barn ; no walks ; one horse on school ground 
the day school was inspected; all outbuildings painted. 
School Building: 

Painted ; good foundation ; cement platform ; no cloakrooms ; no 
entrance hall ; improperly lighted by six windows, three on each side. 

Equipment : 

Only two window shades; curtains; good blackboards; double 
desks well arranged; teacher's desk and chair; modern heater; 
thermometer; good globe; two cases of maps; dictionary in poor 
condition; agricultural chart; seven volumes Pupils and Teachers 
Encyclopedia; three volumes Lives of Our Presidents; about 




CIRCLE DISTRICT NO. 



Alfalfa County 25 

seventy-five volumes of library books too advanced for the 
pupils in the school ; homemade bookcase ; several framed pictures ; 
flag and basin for lavatory. The school has no chairs for visitors ; 
no drinking fountain or cooler; no library books that can be used 
by the primary pupils; no screened cupboard for lunches; no 
equipment for domestic science or manual training. 
Organization. 

One teacher with four years of experience ; 11 boys and 8 girls, 
distributed in six grades; 36 daily recitations on teacher's prog- 
ram ; no high school work. 

(See Group Three) 

GROUP THREE. 

Dist. Dist. Dist. 

No. 7 No. 8 No. 9 Total 

Area (square mi.) IQi/o 101/2 IO3/4 31% 

Valuation, 1917 $278,333.00 $403,100.00 $491,434.00 1,172,867.00 

Gen. levy, m., 1917 2.2 2.2 2 

App'v'd Est., 1917 745.00 940.00 1,089.00 2,774.00 

Enumeration, 1917 39 43 30 102 

Enrollment, 1917-18 27 30 19 76 

Length of Term 

(months) 1917 8 8 7 

Cost per month per 

child 3.45 3.91 8.19 4.76 

Number teachers 

employed 1113 

Monthly salaries of 

teachers 65.00 65.00 70.00 200.00 

Number years ex- 
perience as teachers 4 
Enrollment Primary 

grade, 1917 2 3 6 11 

Enrollment, First 

grade, 1917 „ 4 2 6 

Enrollment, Second 

grade, 1917 

Enrollment, Third 

grade, 1917 8 4 5 17 

Enrollment, Fourth 

grade, 1917 3 4 18 

Enrollment. Fifth 

grade, 1917 4 3 18 

Enrollment. Sixth 

grade, 1917 4 6 2 12 



26 School Survey Suggestion 

Enrollment Seventh 

grade, 1917 6 2 8 

Enrollment Eighth 

grade, 1917 4 2 6 

Total 27 30 19 76 

Number Daily lie- 
citations 25 33 36 94 

Number Horses driv- 
en to school by 
pupils day school 

was inspected 3 3 17 

This group should include one square mile now in district 11, 
and three-fourths of a square mile in District 10, making a total area 
of 33I/2 square miles and increasing the valuation to about $1,200, 
000. These districts are level, have good roads and bridges and a 
combined valuation greater than that of either the Burlington or 
Driftwood districts. A splendid consolidated or union graded 
school could be maintained by this group of districts. No child 
need be located more than six and one-half miles from the con- 
solidated school building. Enough horses are used to transport 
pupils to the little one-room schools to furnish transportation to 
the pupils in the district should they consolidate. The districts 
have no outstanding bonds. 

WATROUS, DISTRICT 10. 

Nan Sampson, Teacher. 

The level site contains one acre enclosed by fence. There are 
two toilets, a coal house, a barn, a cistern and a one-room school 
building on the site. The toilets are not screened and the pits are 
not cared for. The cistern has a good concrete cover. The barn 
has stalls for five horses. Three horses and three vehicles were 
used to transport pupils to the school the day the school was 
inspected. There is no playground equipment and there are no 
growing trees on the ground. 

The school building is painted white, has a good foundation, 
and a Avooden platform in front and is improperly lighted by six 
windows arranged three on each side. There is no entrance hall, no 
cloakroom, no screened cupboards for lunches, and no means of 
ventilation except windows and transom. 

The school is equipped with good non-adjustable window 
shades, sash curtains, double desks, an old style heater placed in 
center of room and affording no ventilation, teacher's desk and 
chair, a large clock, one case of maps, a good globe and globe case; 
a bookcase and an Agriculture chart. The library contains six 
volumes of Teachers and Pupils Encyclopedias, eight volumes of 



Alfalfa County 



27 



Universal Encyclopedias, three volumes of standard literature too 
advanced for the pupils in the school. There are no library books 
for pupils in the primary and intermediate grades, no chairs for 
visitors, no recitation benches, no thermometer, no drinking fountain 
or cooler, no framed pictures, no flag and no equipment for domestic 
science and manual training. A basin, soap, and paper towels 
furnish lavatory facilities for the pupils. 

One teacher is employed to teach the eight grades enrolled in 
this school. The teacher has had two years' experience as a 
teacher. Eight boys and four girls are enrolled. The school day 
is chopped up into 24 recitation periods. No high school work is 
done. 

(See Group Four) 



HARMONY, DISTRICT 11. 

Carrie Cook, Teacher. 

Site of one acre is level, unfenced, and without trees or shrubs. 
There are two toilets, a coal house, a bam with stalls for five horses, 
and a school house with annex enclosing cistern built on this acre 
The toilets are not screened and have no pits. The cistern has a 
good concrete cover. The playground equipment consists of basket 
ball goals and giant stride. There are no walks to the school or 
outhouses. 

The one-room school building is painted white, has a good 
foundation, a good cement platform, but has no entrance hall, no 
cloakrooms, no screened cupboard for lunch baskets, and no means 
of ventilation, except windows and transom. It is improperly 
lighted by six windows arranged three on each side. 

The equipment consists of non-adjustable window shades, 




HARMONY DISTRICT NO. 11. 



28 



School Survey Suggestion 



blackboards in fair condition, but too high for the pupils, double 
desks poorly arranged and too large for the small children,two good 
recitation benches, teacher's desk and chair, old type heater, water 
cooler, one case maps, a good globe. Agricultural chart, dictionary 
and stand, a flag, two large and three small pictures, four shelves for 
books and basin for wasliing hands. There are no curtains, no 
chairs for visitors, no books in library for the primary grades and 
few that are read by advanced pupils, no musical instrument and 
no equipment for teaching domestic science and manual training. 
The library contains two sets of Teachers and Pupils Encyclopedia, 
and about fifty books that are too advanced for pupils enrolled in 
the school. 

One teacher is employed, this being her second year as a teacher, 
both years having been spent in this district. The five boys and 
four girls are divided into four grades, making small and uninter- 
esting classes. The teacher has 18 recitations daily. No high 
school Avork is given. 

(See Group Four.) 

VALLEY CENTER, DISTRICT 26. 



Hannah Collins, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Site one acre, level, not fenced; water supplied from cistern; 
three toilets, two of them provided with a screen ; good fuel house ; 
basket ball goals ; no trees ; no walks ; no shrabs on ground. 
School Building-: 

Needs repainting; fair foundation, two rooms, ventilated by 
modern heater, improperly lighted by windows arranged on two 




VALiLEY CENTE3R, DISTRICT NO. 26. 



Alfalfa County 29 

sides, has no entrance hall, iio cloakroom, and no screened cupboard 
for lunch baskets. 

Equipment : 

Window shades; good blackboards placed too high; double 
desks well arranged; good teacher's desk and chair; good recitation 
bench; modern heater; case of maps, small globe, poor dictionary, 
Teachers' and Pupils' Encyclopedia in six volumes; no other library 
books ; two small framed pictures ; organ ; two flags : no sash 
curtains ; no thermometer ; no drinking fountain or cooler ; no book- 
case ; no library books suitable for children enrolled ; and no 
domestic science and manual training equipment. 

OrgaJiization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the 13 boys and 11 girls 
enrolled. The students are classified in eight grades, requiring 32 
recitations each day. No high school work is given. 

(See Group Four) 



30 



School Survey Suggestion 



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Alfalfa County 31 

GROUP FOUR, Continued. 

By detaching 1% square miles from the north ends of Districts 
10 and 11, and 2i/2square miles from the west side of District 26, 
the area of this group is reduced to 42 square miles, with little re- 
duction in valuation. Territory detached from districts 10 and 11 is 
included in Group Three, while that detached from District 26 is 
added to the Burlington consolidated school district. The location 
of the schoolhouse need not be more than seven miles from the 
remotest corners of the district. With the exception of a narrow 
strip of broken and sandy soil along the river that forms the 
southern boundary of this group, the territory included is level and 
has smooth dirt roads suitable for transportation. The i-ough 
land and sandy roads in the south do not make transportation im- 
practical. This group could easily maintain a good consolidated 
school, as it has more than $1,000,000 valuation, after detaching the 
territory that belongs in other groups. No more horses would be 
required to transport pupils to the central school than are now used 
to transport the children to the little one-teacher schools where the 
classes are small, recitations short, and course of study limited to 
eight grades. 

Districts 27 and 28 have more than enough money in the sinking 
funds to pay their bonds at maturity. Several of the buildings 
could be moved to a convenient site and used by the consolidated 
district, either as a temporary school plant or as a teacherage. The 
others are so nearly worn out that they could not be moved 
profitably. , : 



32 



School Survey Suggestion 



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Alfali-a County 33 



GROUP SIX. 

Dist. Dist. Dist Dist. 

No. 20 No. 21 No.. 34 No. 35 Total 

Area, sq. mi. 6% 6 91/4 111/4 32-14 

Valuation, 

1917 $34,830.00 .$43,245.00 $71,990.00 $41,335.00 $191,400.00 

General levy, 

1917 8 14 5 6 

Approved est. 

1917 373.00 660.00 425.00 310.00 1,768.00 

No. teachers, 

1917 1111 4 

Eiuniievation. 

1917 30 38 34 11 113 

Enrollment, 

1916-17 18 18 28 7 71 

This group of districts situated in the sand hill region has not 
sufficient valuation to organize a consolidated school. A union 
graded school located near the center of the group would provide 
high school facilities for the pupils in this section of the county 
at small additional expense to the taxpayers. No child in the dis- 
trict need be located farther than six miles from the school pro- 
vided all section lines are open and passable.. 



GROUP SEVEN 

Districts 36 and 48 are so situated that it will prove difficult to 
include them in any one of the groups. There is so much sand in 
this section of the county that it would hardly prove practicable to 
combine them with districts 34 and 35, on the north, or with 
Disti'ict 33, northwest, Avhile the river cuts them off on the south. 
It may be that a joint district could be formed, composed of Districts 
36 and 48, and the districts lying east in Grant County. Districts 
36 and 48 have a combined valuation of $159,590. By combining 
their schools, they could employ two teachers and thus secure the 
advantage of better gradation that would be Avell worth the extra 
effort the children would necessarily have to make in order to travel 
the added distance to the school. A union graded school located 
near the center of this group would be feasible, but it would make 
it necessary to raise the tax levy considerably above the present 
rate. 



34 ScPiOOL Survey Suggestion 

FAIR VIEW, DISTRICT NO. 27. 

Mrs. Uertrude Fulliam. Teacher 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Site one acre, unfenced, no gi'OAving trees, no walks, two un- 
screened toilets with pits that are not kept cleaned or treated to 
make them odorless, fuel house, barn for eight horses, giant stride, 
outbuildings not painted. 
School Building: 

Painted, poor foundation, covered porch with concrete floor, no 
cloakroom, no entrance hall, no screened cupboard for lunches, one 
classroom, improperly lighted by six windows arranged three on a 
side. 
Equipment : 

Not enough window shades, good blackboards, double desks, 
good desk and chair for teacher but no chairs for visitors, one 
recitation bench, modern heater, one case of maps, a good globe, 
reading cluirt, good dictionary, library books (mostly readers) for 
all grades, 12 volumes Warner's Encyclopedia, 6 volumes of New 
Practical Refrence Book, bookcase, two small framed pictures, flag, 
water cooler, organ, six chairs for primary grades, and sand table. 

Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the 18 boys and 11 girls 
enrolled in the school. All grades up to and including the eighth 
are included in this enrollment. The teacher has divided the day 
into 25 recitation periods. No higher school work is given. 

(See Group Four) 

PLEASANT VALLEY, DISTRICT NO. 41. 

Leora Hale, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The school site contains about two acres on which approx- 
imately 75 elm trees have been planted. The trees need to be 
cultivated and trimmed. There are two poorly kept toilets and a 
good fuel house on the site. There are no walks from the road to 
Ihe house or from the school to the outhouses, but there is a good 
hogtight fence around the school grounds. Water is secured from 
a Avell on the school ground. 

School Building: 

With the exception of the wooden platform in the front, the 
school building appears to be in good condition. It has two front 
doors, no entrance hall, no cloakrooms and is improperly lighted 
l)v six windoAvs arranged three on tAvo sides. 



Alfalfa County 



35 



Equipment : 

The blackboards are good, but too high from the floor. The 
single desks are in excellent condition but since only one size 
was provided, the feet of the small children fail to touch the floor 
A modern heater supplies heat and ventilation. Other equipment 
consists of a case of maps, a globe, a large U.S. Flag, a wooden book- 
case, a large dictionary, teacher's desk and chair, recitation bench, 
organ, adjustable AvindoAv shades but no sash curtains, and play- 




PLEASANT VALLEY, DISTRICT NO. 41. 

ground equipment, including an excellent slide, two swings and 
one teeter-totter. The library books, sixty in number, are too 
advanced for the children in the school and, as a result, are in 
splendid condition, although they have probably been in the school 
for more than ten years. An expensive Agricultural chart and a 
Physiological chart should not have been purchased until after some 
■ of the more essential needs of the district were supplied. 
Organization : 

The teacher is teaching her second term of school, having begun 
lier professional career in this district last year. There are 12 boys 
and 6 girls enrolled. These are distributed into six grades . The 
school day is divided into thirty recitation periods. No high school 
work is given. 

(See Group Eight). 



SHORT SPRIXOS, DISTRICT NO. 42 

L. C. Stogsdill, Teacher 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Site one acre, level, fenced; water supplied from a cistern; tAvo 
toilets not screened; good fuel house; elm trees in fair groAving 



3(i School Survey Suggestion 

condition; cement walks iroiu road to school and I'rom school to 

outhouses. 

School Building-: 

Pamted; good foundation; good covered porch; no entrance 
hall; no cloakrooms; improperly lighted with eight Avindows, four 
on each side; shelves without screens for lunches and storage. 

Equipment : 

Good brown adjustable shades; no sash curtains; poor 
and insufficient blackboards; teacher's desk and chair: tAxenty 
single and twenty double desks in fair condition; modern heater; 
water cooler ; maps ; globe ; dictionary ; library books too advanced 
for pupils ; bookcase ; one framed picture ; no flag ; basin and soap ; 
organ; teeter-totter, slide and basket ball goals; reading chart; 
Agricultural chart. 

Organization : 

One teacher, twenty years' experience; second year in this 
district; 14 boys and 18 girls; eight grades; tAventy-seven daily 
recitations; no high school Avork. 

(See Group Eight) 

PLEASANT HILL. DISTRICT NO. 43. 

Harry Foster. Teachei- 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Rough site, one acre, not fenced ; Avater supplied from Avell on 
school groimd too close to toilets ; two very good toilets, not screened 
and not Avell kept; poor fuel house; a half dozen locust trees in fair 
groAA'ing condition; no Avalks to school or from school to out- 
buildings; no playground eqni]nnent. 

School Building: 

Painted; good foundation; good covered porch Avith concrete 
floor; no entrance hall; no cloakrooms; improperly lighted by six 
AvindoAvs, three on each side; no screened cupboard for lunches. 

Equipment : 

Non-adjustable AvindoAv shades; no sack curtains; blackboards good, 
but not sui^cient and too high; ncAv double desks; good teacher's 
desk and chair; tAVO good recitation benches; an old type of heater; 
no drinking fountain or Avater cooler; one case of maps; globe; 
dictionary and stand; no library books; no pictures, but an expen- 
sive Agricultural chart that is not especially needed: basin 
individual towels and soap; organ. 

Organization : 

One teacher, six years exi-)erience, three in this district : 10 boys 



Alfalfa County 37 

and 18 girls; seven grades; 30 recitation periods a day; no clubs; 
no high school work; school nine miles from tiie nearest high school. 

(See Group Eight) 

ENTERPRISE, DISTRICT NO. 44. 

Sylvia St out, Teacher 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Level site, fenced hogtight; two toilets in bad condition, no 
screens to toilets and no pits ; fuel house in fair condition ; no walks 
from road to schoolhouse or from schoolhouse to outhouses; basket 
ball goals and teeter-totters; no trees or shrubs. 

School Building: 

Painted; no entrance hall; no cloakrooms; improperly and in- 
sufficiently lighted by six windoAvs, three on each side ; school room 
needs to be papered ; no cupboard for lunches. New school building 
will be required in the district before many years. 

Equipment : 

Adjustable Avindow shades, sash curtains; blackboards in poor 
condition and too high; old double desks; good teacher's desk and 
chair; two good recitation benches; modern heater; dictionary; 
five volumes of encyclopedia; no other library books; two framed 
pictures not standard ; flag ; organ ; no equipment for teaching 
agriculture, domestic science or manual training. 

Organization : 

One teacher, no previous experience ; nine grades, from primary 
to eighth inclusive ; 22 boys and 14 girls ; 26 recitation periods a day ; 
no high school work. 

(See Group Eight) 



38 



School Survey Suggestion 



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Alfalfa C.ountv 39 

This group of districts has sutlicieiit ai-ea, valuation, and enu- 
mei'ation to maintain a strong consolidated district or a union 
graded district in which high school training could be provided. No 
child in this suggested district need be located farther than six miles 
from the school liouso. 

The county is level, roads and bridges are good. Several of the 
buildings now in use could be mo\ed to a convenient site and used 
for school purposes until the people decide to erect a modern 
building in which the high school could be housed. The old build- 
ings could then be sold or converted into a teachers' cottage. 

Districts 41 and 42 have outstanding bonds of $300 and $500 re- 
i^pectively but sufficient money on hand to take them up. 

GROUP NINE 

Districts 40 and 39 are cut otf on the north by the Salt Fork of 
the Arkansas Eiver and on the south by the indei)endent district of 
Cherokee. District 39 could enter into a combiiuition composed of 
Districts 39, 38 and 27, or it could combine with 39, 40 and 41. But 
since this district is about equidistant from the Cherokee and In- 
gersoll high schools, it will probably be absorbed by one of these 
districts in the future or will be divided between these districts. In 
making suggestions for redistricting the county I have left it in the 
Ingersoll group because it is by reason of its location fortunately 
situated with respect to high school advantages for the children who 
complete the common school course in the little district school. As 
the roads are improved, this district will, no doubt, be absorbed by 
Ihc Ttigersoll and Cherokee districts. 

GROUP TEN 

This group is composed of districts 37, 38. 47 and the northern 
part of districts 51 and 52. Although the ma]) of this group ap- 
pears irregular and undesirable, a central union graded or consol- 
idated school can be located Avhere it will not be more than six 
miles from the extreme corners of the enlarged district. 

The group is bounded on the east by the Great Salt Plains and 
on the west by the Cherokee and Ingersoll groups. District 47 
naturally falls in the Cherokee group, but should it unite with 
Cherokee, districts 37 and 38 would be cut off from future consol- 
idation or would be forced to maintain a very weak union school 
because of the limited valuation and small enumeration. 

The splendid roads in this section of the county make it desir- 
able consolidation territory an-d there is no valid reason why the 
<''lnldren living Avithin the districts com]iosing this gi'oup should not 



40 



School Survey Suggestion 



i^Uy M- 'w^* 


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JAY, DISTRICT NO. 52. 

have provided for them a splendid high school such as is maintained 
by the Cherokee district. 

The approximate valuation of this group is $690,000 and the 
enumeration is about 115. 

The school buildings in these districts are old and unmodern. 
"Within a few years it will be necessary to build new school houses 
in at least two of the districts and to make expensive repairs and 
alterations in the others. Before going to this expense the people 
should carefully consider a plan of consolidation lest they awake 
some morning to find themselves numbered among the unprogressive 
district in the state. 

LOCUST GROVE. DISTRICT 45. 



]\Irs. Alta ]\I. Giddons,Teacher 

This is undoubtely the model school of Alfalfa County. Mrs. 
Ciddons, the teacher, is a normal school graduate who prefers to 
leacn in a rural district rather than in toAvn. It is fortunate thai 
the school board in this district secured so able a teacher to Avork in 
the splendid l)uilding and with the complete equipment that is 
rapidly being provided. 

The schoolhouse is the best one of the tAvo modern rural build- 
ings in the county, having a large classroom properly lighted by Avin- 
doAvs on only one side and at the rear, although those at the rear are 
too large. There is a large basement in AA'hich domestic science and 
manual training Avork is done. The school has an entrance liall and 
a coat room. "Warm lunches are served. The school board furnishes 
all supplies. A modern heater affords Avarmth and ventilation 



Alfalfa County 



41 



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[.OCUST GROVK, DISTRICT NO. 4r). 

during the winter. Sand tables and primary helps are provided for 
the little folks. 

There are several things that needed to be done at the time the 
school was inspected, but, as the people in the district appeared 
anxious to have a real model school, they have probably remedied 
the defects by this time. For instance, the school needs a few 
library books that can be used by the primary and intermediate 
grades and the toilets needed some repairs and better attention. A 
drinking fountain or cooler would also add to the health conditions, 
while the appearance of the school would be improved by giving 
more care and attention to the grounds and trees. 

It is suggested that Boards of other districts visit this building 
and note what a progressive district can do. The building cost 
$1,700. 

CHEROKEE, DISTRICT NO. 46. 

F. N. Howell, Superintendent. 
This is an independent city or town district that maintains a 
standard fully accredited school. Eighteen teachers are employed. 
There are 383 pupils enrolled in the grades and 165 are doing high 
school work. The high school enrollment represents almost one- 
third of the total enrollment, which is a splendid shoAving. This 
is made possible by the fact that 46 pupils from adjoining rural 
districts are getting their high school tr^-ining in this school, 34 of 
them are paying their own tuition and 12 of them having their 
tuition paid for them by the tax payers of their home districts. Six 



42 



School Survey Suggestion 




SCHOOL BUILDING AT (;HER(JKLE. 



pupils from adjoining rural districts are attending the lower grades, 
of this city school and paying tuition. 

The teachers employed in this school meet all of the require- 
ments of teachers in accredited schools. 

The following should be compared Avith the corresponding items 
of suggested groups : 

Area 9 Square miles 

Valuation. 1917 —$1,353,416. 

C4eneral levy. 1917 9.2 mills 

Approved estimate -$16,780. 



Enumeration. 1917 

Enrollment, Nov. 1917- 



-561, 



-548. 



Foui" years of high school work. 

Several of the groups suggested can maintain as good schools on 
their valuations as is maintained by the city of Cherokee provided 
the people in these groups are willing to pay the price the tOMm 
people pay. 

GROUP ELEVEN 

This group includes an independent city district, a rural 
district on the west and one-half of a rural district on the south. 
The city school is probably the best equipped school of its kind in 
the county, while the rural school is undoubtedly the best in this 
entire section of the state. It will be necessary either to build a 
new schoolhouse in District 53. south of Cherokee, in the immediate 
future, or to consolidate. The north half of the district naturally 



Alfalfa County 



43 



belongs with the Cherokee district and should be attached in order 
that all the children in that part of the district might have the 
benefit of the excellent school maintained by the city district. 

District 45 has a new building, one of the best in the state and 
well equipped. It will probably be a number of years before the 
people in that district will consent to abandon that building. In 
the meantime, the graduates of the school will be transferred to 
the high schools at Ingersoll and Cherokee for secondary training. 
Later, the territory now included in District 45 may be absorbed by 
the Cheroke and Ingersoll districts. 

KEYSTONE, DISTRICT NO. 57. 

MILDRED FOSTER, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Two acre site, level and fenced with chain cable, water sup- 
plied from well on school ground, two dilapidated and poorly kept 
closets, twenty-five stunted locust trees in poor condition, fuel kept 
in fuel room in school house, playground equipment in bad condition 
barn and outhouses not painted, four horses on ground and teacher 




KEYSTONE, DISTRICT NO. 57. 



reports that seven are usually driven to school by pupils. Large 
church across the road just north of the school site. 

School Building-: 

A two story artificial stone building, the upper story of which 
is used as a lodge hall. The school district owns only the lower 
story, which is used for a school room. This building has been 
braced up to keep it from falling. It Avill no doubt be necessary 
to provide a new building for the children of this district in the 



44 School Survey Suggestion 

near futuve. The building is improperly lighted, having eight small 
AvindoAvs arranged four on each side. No coat rooms, entrance hall 
or lunch cupboard. 

Equipment : 

Good adjustable desks Avere being placed in the school on the 
sixth day of November. 1917 the day the inspection Avas made. A 
modern heating system, Avater cooler, case of maps, a poor globe, 
a library containing several books for primary grades and several 
for the intermediate and grammar grades, Avith a large number for 
grades above those enrolled in the school, a broken bookcase, 
dictionary, reading chart, agricultural chart, four framed pictures, 
good teacher's desk and chair, flag, basin and tOAvels for children, 
no musical instrument, not sufficient hooks for coats and AA'raps, 
not enough blackboard space and that proA-ided is too high from 
floor. No equipment for domestic science or manual training. 

Organization : 

One teacher teaches 18 boys and 18 girls, diA-ided into eight 
divisions. Daily program provides for 36 recitations. No boys' 
or girls' clubs. Six miles to nearest accredited high school. Three 
pupils from this district in high school of adjoining district, 
although five completed the eight grade Avork last year. 
(See Group TAveh-e) 

MOI^NT ZION, DISTRICT NO. 58. 

Grace AVilson, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The school site is not fenced and has no groAving trees. There 
are tA\-o poor toilets Avithout screens or pits, a good storm cave, 
good fuel house and a stable. "Water is supplied from a good 
cistern; basket ball goals doAA'n; no other playground equipment. 
School Building: 

Painted; brick foundation; cement platform in front: no 
entrance hall or cloakrooms; uo screened cupboards for lunches; 
improperly lighted by six AA-indoAA's, arranged three on each side 
needs repairing, using the same shades at present because they are 
good for both Avails and ceiling; one room. 

Equipment : 

BroAvn, adjustable AviudoAv shades; sash curtains; blackboards 
in fair condition, but too high from floor; old style heater: one 
good recitation bench; ucaa- single desks but poorly arranged; 
library contains i\ye A^olumes of Encyclopedia ; about one dozen 
books suitalfle for grammar grade pupils and about thirty too 
advanced for any pupils enrolled in the school ; dictionary in poor 



Alfalfa County 45 

eonditioii ])iit now one has been ordered; three framed pictures; 
flag; basm for lavatory; organ; sand table; teacher's desk and 
chair in fair condition; no chairs for visitors; no thermometer; 
no drinking fountain or cooler; no library books for primary and 
intermediate pupils; no equipment for teaching domestic science 
or manual training ; no doors on bookcase ; no maps ;no globe. 
Organization : 

One teacher employed, 20 boys and 8 girls enrolled, eight 
grades represented, 29 daily recitations; no boys' or girls' clubs; 
2^ miles to the high school at Da coma ; 5 pupils from this dictrict 
are attending high school in other districts this year. 
(See Group Twelve) 

ELM MOTT, DISTRICT NO. 74. 

Eunice Edwards, Teacher. 
Grounds and Outbuildings : 

Site not fenced; water supplied from well with rotten wooden 
cover, makmg it both unsafe and unsanitary ; two poor toilets with- 
out screens and with pits uncared for ; good fuel house ; no trees ; 
shrubs or flower beds ; one swing and one teeter-totter. 
School Building : 

Painted but not recently ; good foundation ; cement platform in 
front; combined entrance hall and cloakroom; improperly lighted 
by six windows arranged three on each side ; only one room ; vent- 
ilation supplied by modern heater. The school has no means of pro- 
tecting the childrens' lunches from flies. 
Equipment : 

New brown adjustable Avindow shades; sash curtains; plenty 
of blackboard space ; boards in good condition but too high from the 
floor; old double desks poorly arranged; good globe; good teachers' 
desk and chair; one chair for visitors; modern heater; Agriculture 
chart ; good dictionary ; good sectional bookcase containing three 
books suitable for primary grades and about seventy suitable for 
the intermediate and grammar grades, others too advanced; flag; 
basin for lavatory; organ; clock. The school has no recitation 
benches, no thermometer; no drinking fountain or cooler; no maps; 
no framed pictures; no sand table; no equipment for manual train- 
ing or domestic science. 
Organization : 

One teacher is employed ; 10 boys and 5 girls are enrolled ; pupils 
are divided into seven grades; daily schedule provides for 33 
]-ecitations. There are no boys' and girls' clubs ; six pupils from this 
district are attending high school in other districts. This school 
is three miles from Da com a. 

fSee rjronp Twelve) 



46 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP TWELVE. 



Dist. Dist. Dist. Total 

No. 57 No. 58 No.74 

Area (sq. miles) 8% 9 71/2 251/4 

Valuation, 1917 $186,700.00 $241,990.00 $312,040.00 $740,730.00 

Gen Levy (m.) 1917 5 3 1.8 

Approved Est., 1917 1,080.00 755.00 630.00 2,465.00 

Enumeration, 1917 ... 46 41 30 117 

Enrollment, 1917 47 29 19 . 105 

Enrollment by grades, 
November, 1917 : 

Primary 8 2 10 

First 4 7 3 14 

Second 4 7 1 12 

Third 3 3 17 

Fourth 16 7 

Fifth 2 6 19 

Sixth 2 3 16 

Seventh 6 3 9 

Eighth 3 2 5 

Total 36 28 15 79 

Number oi' teachers 1113 

Number of grades 8 8 7 

Daily Recitations 36 29 32 

Months of School 

1917-18 8 7 7 7 2-3 

Number of Horses 4 2 2 8 

This group of districts, bounded on the east by consolidated 
District No. 3 and on the west by Woods County, illustrates the 
disadvantage of sporadic consolidation. Should this group organ- 
ize as a union graded or consolidated district, the result would be 
a long narrow district in which the schoolhouse need not be located 
farther than 614 miles from any home. Transportation in this 
section of level and rolling prairie country would not be difficult. 
The roads are good and are being put into better condition each 
year. 

It would probably be better for these districts to unite Avith 
certain districts in Woods County around the little to\vn of Daeoma 
as a center. 

Enough horses were in the school barns on the day ttie schools 
Avere visited to furnish transportation to all pupils in 1lie district. 



Alfalfa County 



47 



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48 



SCIIOOI. SUUVKY Sl'C.tiKSTlON 




CHICAGO, DISTRICT XO. G^ 



By including in this group the south half of Districts 51 and 52 
and the southeast one-fourth of District 53, -vve have an aggregate 
area of approximately 46 square miles and a valuation of $1,192,- 
260. The enunun-ation of scholastics will also be increased to 
about 175. 

It will be noted that District 63 is tjie only district in this 
group that does not have enough money on hand in the sinking 
fund to pay oft' the bonded indebtedness of the district. The school- 
house in District 68 is new. it being one of the two rural school 
buildings in the county built according to modern ideas. This 
building could be moved to a central location and used by the 
consolidated district. All school buildings in these districts: 
could be moved in this ^\ay and used as a temporary school plant, 
as the territory included in this group is level and the roads are 
in good condition. The consolidated schoolhouse need not be 
located farther than eight miles from the most remote corner of the 
district. In a level section like this, with good dirt roads and no 
sand, this distance is not too great. 

Five horses and one autonuibile were used to transport pupils 
to District 62 on the day the school was inspected. November 7th, 
The teacher in District 69 reports that three horses are driven by 
hei" pupils. I have no record of horses and autmobiles used to 
transport pupils to the other schools in the group, but enough 
horses and vehicles are used in these tAvo districts to provide trans- 
portation for all the pupils living two miles or more from the 
center of the entire group of districts. 

Should these districts consolidate, the 101 pupils now enrolled 
could be taught by the four teachers now enployed at a cost less 



Alfalfa County 49 

than that paid for teachers' salaries. The school would 
cost more than the present system, because of transportation and 
the high school work that should be offered, but each child would 
get much more value. For instance, the pupils in the first and 
second grades would get one-half day of the teacher's time and 
attention, or 165 minutes, as compared with the average 40 minutes 
assigned them on the daily programs of these one-teacher schools. 
The other grades -would benefit in the same proportion. In other 
words, the pupils in the first eight grades would receive about four 
times as much attention as it is possible to give them under the 
present plan. If the present schools are worth what they are 
costing, it appears to me that a consolidated school would be a 
real bargain in this community even though it should cost twice 
as much as the present one-teacher system. 

A good union graded school could be maintained by this group 
of districts with a very slight increase in the tax levy, and at no 
cost to the district for transportation. 




THE SCHOOL BUILDLXG AT JET WHICH BURNED AFTER THE SUR- 
VEY WAS COMPLETED. A CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT HAS 
SINCE BEEN ORGANIZED, INCLUDING PART OF 
THE TERRITORY IN GROUP FOURTEEN. 



50 



School Survey Suggestion 





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Alfalfa County 



51 



This group includes seven districts having a large area. The 
Great Salt Plains on the north and east and the Salt Fork of the 
Arkansas River on the north make it necessary that Districts 49 and 
50 be included in this group. District 65, the central district, is 
also the center of population and has a splendid school located in 
Jet, a little town on the Santa Fe Railroad nine miles from the 
northeast corner of District 49. The school building at Jet 
burned recently. xV new building on a larger site should be pro- 
vided. A good high school is maintained at Jet. In this high school 
65 pupils are enrolled, 44 being residents of surrounding districts. 
There are 47 non-resident pupils attending the grades below^ the 
high school. The adjacent rural districts are paying transfer fees 
to the amount of $1,692 to District 65 and , in addition, parents who 
did not apply for transfers for their children until after June 1st 
are paying tuition to the amount of $1,000, as estimated by the 
principal of the Jet school, making a total income of about $2,692 
which District 65 collects from the other districts nearby. The 
bonded indebtedness of Disti'ict 65 requii'es that a sinking fund of 
$1,182 be raised each year. It is interesting to note that the out- 
lying districts are paying into the Jet district as transfers and tuition 
enough money to pay their sinking fund levy and to hire two 
teachers each year to teach the children enrolled from outside the 
Jet district. 

This group could be organized into a consolidated district 
or a union graded school district, the latter, perhaps, would be the 
moi'e feasible because of the large area. However, the roads are 
good and the country level, Avith the exception of a narrow strip on 
the south, so transportation of pupils is not impossible. 




MOUXT VERXOX, DISTRICT NO. 66, A TW^O- ROOM SCHOOL. THIS 

DISTRICT HAS COXSOLIDATED SINCE THE SURVEY WAS 

MADE AND THIS BUILDING WILL BE ABANDONED. 



52 



School Survey Suggestion 




PRAIRIE VIEW, DISTRICT NO. 84. 



GROUP FIFTEEN 



The little town of Goltry is in the center of a group of seven 
districts that naturally belong together in any scheme of county- wide 
consolidation. This group has a total area of 57 square miles, with a 
taxable valuation of $1,767,915, and an enumeration of 408 scholas- 
tics. The schoolhouse in Goltry is not more than nine miles from 
the most distant corner of this group. Few, if any, children would 
be required to travel as far as nine miles to the school in Goltry, 

This group of districts has an area less than that of the Amber 
district in Grady County and a higher valuation. The roads in 
this section are better than those around Amber. There is no rea- 
son why the children living on the farms in these districts should 
not have as good school advantages as the people in the Amber dis- 
trict have provided for their children. 

District 86. the Goltry district, has a splendid new building 
that can easily be added to as the needs require. This is tl\e type 
of building that the State Department of Education recommends for 
newly organized consolidated districts. A building of this type can 
be added to Avithout mucli expense and Avithout destroying the archi- 
tectural unity. 

A good consolidated school or a strong union graded school 
'""" ^""^ mainiaincd by this group of districts. (See map of Alfalfa 



Alfalfa County 



53 




THE GOLTRY SCHOOL BUILDING, FRONT AND REAR VIEW. 

GROUP SIXTEEN. 

District No. 80, Green Plain. 

District No. 81, Enterprise. 

District No. 82. 

District No. 88, Prairie View. 

District No. 89, Helena. 

District No. 90, Timber VieAv. 

District No. 101, Highland. 

This group of districts has a total valuation of $1,514,418, a 
population of 344 scholastics and an area of approximately 51 
square miles. The allowance for maintaining these schools during 
the current year is $9,479. Districts 88, 90 and 101 have bonds 
outstanding, but there is more than, enough money in the sinking 
fund of District 90 to pay its bonds at maturity and there will be 
more than enough to the credit of the sinking fund of District 101 
to pay its bonds at the close of the present fiscal year, while Dis- 
trict 88 Avill lack about $50 of having enough on hand to pay off its 



54 



School Sur\^y Suggestion 



bonds at the close of this fiscal year. These districts are prac- 
tically free of debt at this time, 

District 89 has a splendid school building worth approximately 
$80,000. This Avas formerly the Woods County high school building, 
more recently it was used by the State as a district Agricultural 
college, and it now belongs to the Helena district. The other 
districts in the group have unmodern one-room school buildings, 
poorly equipped, and several of them in a worn out and dilapidated 
condition. Only one of these out-lying schoolhouses has a cloak- 
room. The equipment consists of such as is found in the average 
one-room rural schools in Alfalfa County. 




THE SPLENDID SCHOOL BUILDING AT HELENA. 



High school work is done in the Helena district. There are 
44 non-resident pupils enrolled in the high school this year. These 
pupils are charged tuition at the rate of $5 per month in the high 
school. There are nine pupils from other districts paying tuition in 
the lower grades this year. Next year these high school pupils 
should be transferred so as to relieve their parents of the burden of 
paying their tuition. There are probably several children living in 
the districts included in this group whose parents are unable or un- 
Avilling to pay their tuition and who, as a result, are not in high 
school this year. The transfer law offers relief to such pupils and 
parents. 

Eight teachers are employed in the Helena school and one in 
each of the other six schools in this group, making a total of fourteen 



Alfalfa County 55 

teachers employed by this group of districts. Four teachers in 
the Helena school instruct the high school classes and the other 
four instruct the first eight grades ; while the teachers in the onc- 
rooni schools have an average of seven grades each and an average 
of 30 recitation periods per day. The teacher at Helena devotes 
one-half day, or 160 minutes, to the pupils in the first grade, 
while the teachers in the outlaying schools devote an average of 
forty minutes to the pupils of the first grade. In other words, the 
pupils in the first grade of the town school have four times the educa- 
tional opportunity that is offered pupils in. the same grade in the 
other schools of this group. Similar comparisons can be made 
for each of the other grades. 

The Helena district is small in area and valuation and large 
in school population, as compared Avith the other districts in this 
group, and, as a result, is levjdng this year 15 mills for general school 
purposes. Because of the large enrollment in the school, however, 
it is educating its children at a smaller per capita cost this year 
than any other district in the group with the exception of District 
101. No transfers Avere made to the Helena district this year 
because it Avas not knoAvn that a high school Avould be maintained 
there. Next year Avhen the transfers are made, as they no doubt 
Avil] be, the per capita cost of maintaining the outlying schools Avill 
be greater in each instance than the per capita cost of maintaining 
the toAA'n school. 

This group of districts illustrates forcibly the fact that people 
living in the country can maintain a better school than that 
maintained by the people living in toAvn, if they Avill pay the 
price that the toAvn people are Avilling to pay. The people -in 
Helena pay 15 mills to maintain their school. Should these 
districts organize a consolidated district and levy 15 mills there 
Avould be a fund sufficient to provide a school second to none in 
the state. But it Avould not be necessary to IcA^y 15 mills in order 
to maintain the school so that it Avould equal the best in the 
state. Compare Avith the Lambert district reported in this surA'ey. 

The school building at Helena is paid for. is one of the best 
])uildings in the state, and it Avould be sufficient for all purposes 
should this group consolidate. Probably there is no other place 
in the state AA^here consolidation is more practical than in this 
level section of Alfalfa County, and Avhere it can be undertaken 
at a smaller initial expense. A good union graded school could 
be maintained bj^ this group at a cost very little if any greater 
than the cost of the present schools. 



56 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP SEVENTEEN. 

District No. 71, Prairie Valley. 

District No. 72, West Clay. 

District No. 78, Sumiyside. 

District No. 79, Pleasant View. 

District District District District Total 

No. 71 No. 72 No. 78 No. 79 

Valuation $259,668.00 $192,043.00 $241,808.00 $92,572.00 $786,093.00 

Area (sq. mi.) 8I/2 lOVs 9 6I/4 3414 

Enumeration 50 42 20 21 133 
Enrollment by grades: 

Primary 5 3 8 

First 7 2 9 

Second 4 3 2 2 11 

Third 4 4 8 

Fourth 8 3 3 1 15 

Fifth 7 7 2 2 18 

Sixth 4 2 6 

Seventh 11 1 12 

Eighth 7 4 3 14 

Total 37 37 16 11 101 

Horses 3 2 2 2 9 

Vehicles 2 12 16 

No. recitation 

periods per day 28 33 25 28 

The four districts in this group are providing no high school 
facilities for their children. Although a number of children who 
have completed the eighth grade in these district schools are 
attending high school in other districts, there are, no doubt, a 




PRAIRIE VALLEY, DISTRICT NO. 71. 



Alfalfa County 



57 




PLEASANT VIEW, DISTRICT NO. 79. 



great many who are being deprived of high school training 
because of the inability or uiiAvillingness of their parents to 
permit them to attend school in a town where they will be a^vay 
from the restraining and guiding home influence. 

A central union graded or consolidated school is needed in this 
section, and these districts are so situated that they belong in 
the same group. The schoolhouses now used in these districts 
are in fair condition, with the exception of the one in District 79, 
which is the poorest school building in the county. District 72 has a 
bonded indebtedness of $800 and more than $400 in the sinking 
fund with which to redeem the bonds at maturity. Three of the 
buildings could be moved to a convenient location near the center 
of the group and used temporarily as a school plant. The 
central school need not be located farther than six miles from 
the most remote corner of the district. This distance is not 
too great in this section of the county. Enough horses are now 
driven to the little schools by the children to furnish transport- 
ation to all the children living two miles from the center of the 
group. 

The schools in this group were inspected during November, 
1917, but there is not sufficient space to allow a separate 
report of each school. They are equipped no better than the 
average rural school in the county. Two of the teachers employed 
have had no previous experience as teachers and one is teaching 
her second term. The children living in this group of districts 
are not getting a square deal unde):' present conditions. 



58 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP EIGHTEEN 

District No. 91 

and one mile strip from east side of 

District No. 92 

District No. 99 

District No. 100 

This group has an approximate valuation of $508,012, a 
scholastic population of about 190 and an area of 29% square miles 
Because of the fact that only one-third of District 92 is included 
in this group, it is necessary to estimate the school population of 
liiat part of the district. There are 178 scholastics enumerated 
in the three districts that are included as entire districts. 

This group can meet the requivemerir.s for a consolidated 
district, fully. The districts are level, making the i)roblein of 
transportation easy. Reports shoAv that the buildings and equip- 
ment in these districts are no hetter than tiie average buildings and 
equipment in the rural districts in the county. 'A consolidated 
school building can be located in this proposed district at a point 
where it Mill not be more than six miles from the remotest corner of 
the group. Districts 91, 92 and 100 have outstanding bonds, but 
there is almost enough money to the credit of the sinking fund 
of each district to pay off the bonds when they mature. 

It is only a question of a few years before the people in these 
districts will demand modern educational opportunities for their 
children. They should not make the mistake of erecting four 
new one-room schools on the present sites, but should consolidate. 




SCHOOL BUILDIXG AT CARMEN. 



Ai.FALi-A CoL:\r'' 59 

GROUP NINETEEN. 

District No. 73, Pleasant Ridge 

District No. 75, Bellview 

District No. 77, Carmen 

District (part of) No. 93, Eagle Chief 

District (part of) No. 94, Fairview 
These districts and parts of districts are grouped around the 
independent district of Carmen in such a way that they form a 
strong group. District 73 will fit into no other combination, 
unless it should be divided between Groups Twelve and Seventeen. 
District 75 may be able to enter a combination of Districts in 
Woods County. Districts 93 and 94 could be included in Group 
Twenty, insted of being divided between Groups Nineten and 
Twenty. The arrangement suggested, however, seems to be the 
most reasonable. Consolidation of this group can be effected by 
District 77 extending its boundaries to include all districts and 
parts of districts in the group and providing transportation under 
the law permitting independent districts to furnish transportation. 
Twenty-nine pupils have been regularly transferred to District 
No. 77 and fourteen others are paying tuition in that district this 
year, making a total of 43 non-resident pupils in the school and 
showing that the town school is now serving in a limited way the 
children residing in the other districts of this group. 

District No. 93, Eagle Chief, presents a peculiar problem. All 
of the children in this district are attending the town schools at 
Carmen and Aline. One boy who lives in North Carolina and who 
visited in the district during the early fall attended the school 
four Aveeks. It evidently became too lonesome and he went back 
to North Carolina leaving the teacher without any pupils. The 
teacher spends each school day at the schoolhouse and the Board 
pays her .$60 ]')er month. Her contract calls for seven months' 
service. It is apparent that the people in this district are in favor 
of graded schools for their children, as they have had them 
transferred to the town schools. 

The schoolhouse at Carmen is not more than six and one- 
half miles from the most distant corner of this group of districts. 
The countrv is level, roads and bridges are in good condition and 
transportation of the pupils can be arranged without difficulty. 

GROUP TWENTY 

Parts of Districts 92, 93, and 94 and all of Districts 95, 96, 97. 
and 98. 

District 97, Aline, located near the center of this group 
furnishes high school facilities for the other districts and parts 
of districts in this group, as shown by the large enrollment of non- 



60 



School Survey Suggestion 



resident pupils, both in high school and grade departments. There 
are, for example, 34 pupils enrolled in the ninth grade, which is 
the first year of the high school course, and 25 of these pupils live 
in adjoining districts, while only nine of them live in the Aline 
district. It is interestiug to note that 14 of these pupils are over 
the average age of ninth grade students, several of them being old 
enough for the twelfth grade. These pupils have lost several years of 
opportunity from their school lives and the districts in which they 
live can never square accounts with them in this respect. The 
best that can be done by these little districts is to reorganize now 
so that the other children may not suffer this irreparable loss in the 
future. 

The Aline district, No. 97, has an area of one square mile. 




THE ALINE DISTRICT HAVING AN AREA OF ONLY ONE SQUARE 

MILE MAINTAINS THIS SCHOOL FOR THE CHILDREN 

IN GROUP TWENTY. 

It is preposterous to expect a district of such restricted area, such 
small valuation, and such limited school population to provide a 
strong high school for the pupils in that section of Alfalfa County. 
The fact that the people of the little district heroically tax them- 
selves to the limit in order to provide educational resources for 
their children is no reason why they should be required to do so in- 
definitely. If the people living in the neighboring districts desire 
a strong school for their childen, it will be necessary for them to 
consolidate or organize a union graded district along the lines 
suggested in Group Twenty. 

A consolidated district comprising the territory in this group 



Alfalfa County 61 

would have a valuation of appoximately $1,055,995, a scholastic 
population of approximately 332 and an area of 38 square miles. 
The southAvest corner of this district is not more than eight miles 
from the school house at Aline. This is the greatest distance any 
person in the district would be from school. Inasmuch as the 
roads are good and being made better each year, this is not an 
unreasonable distance. Transportation of pupils can be managed 
easily in this section. 

No pupils were attending the school in District 93 at the 
time the inspection was made November 9th. Only one had 
enrolled during the year and he had gone back to his home in 
North Carolina, after remaining four weeks in this school. No 
other child was expected to enroll in this school during the school 
term, as all children living in the district were attending the 
schools at Aline and Carmen. Eighteen pupils were enrolled in 
the Fairview school, District No. 94, and five horses were being 
used to transport these children to that little inefficient and 
poorly equipped school. Two of these horses could easily trans- 
port all the children in the district to a good graded school at 
Aline. 

People in this group of districts and in other groups, including 
small towns such as Helena, Jet and Goltry, must soon awaken to a 
realization of the fact that the little town districts cannot by them 
selves provide schools of such strength and character as the rural 
boys and girls need. When this is realized fully the people 
will join together in a neighborly way and provide a good school 
for all the children in the community. 



62 



School Survey Suggestion 



GRADY COUNTY 



This county, located in the central section of the state, is 
bounded on the north by Canadian County, on the east by 
?.IcClain and Garvin Counties, on the south by Stephens County 
and on the west by Commanche and Caddo Counties. The Ca- 
nadian River forms a part of the northern boundary . The county 
is forty-eight miles long from noi'th to south and twenty-four 
miles wide from east to west. It has an area of approximately 
1,107 square miles including excellent farming and grazing land. 

The western one-fourth of (4rady County was formerly a part 
of Oklahoma Territory, while the eastern three-fourths was a 
part of Indian Territory. Therefore, the school districts in the 
western tier of townships were organized prior to 1907 and those 




GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM, AMBER CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

in the eastern part were organized after Oklahoma became a state 
in November, 1907. 

The population of the county as shown by the federal census of 
1910 was 30,309 consisting of 27,695 Whites, 882 Indians and others, 
and 1,731 Negroes. This has increased no doubt since that time. 
Because of the negro population, it is necessary to maintain 
seperate schools in six of the school districts. 

The northern half of the county consists of level and rolling- 
prairie land varied here and there with level creek and river 
bottoms. The southern part has considerable sand and black- 
jacks. As a rule, the roads are better in the northern part than 
in the southern section. 



Grady County 



63 




BOYS' BASKETBALL TEAM, AMBER CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT. 

The Washita River meanders across the county pursuing a 
southeasterly direction. There are numerous creeks tributary 
to this river and the Canadian River on the north. 

The county is ti'a versed by three railroad systems and their 
l)ranch lines radiating from Chickasha, the principal town, county 
seat and railroad center. The main line of the Chieage, Rock 
Island and Pacific (Rock Island) Railwan crosses the county from 
north to south Avhile branches of this system run -west and southeast 
fi'om Chickasha. The St. Louis and San Francisco (Frisco) 




SENIOR CLASS AMBER CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 



64 



School Survey Suggestion 



Kaihvay crosses the county and a branch line of the Santa Fe 
tends from Chickasha in a southeasterly direction to the point where 
it enters McClain County. The folloAving towns and villages are 
located on these railroads: Alex, Amber. Bradley, Chickasha, 
Laverty, Middleburg, Minco, Ninnekah, Norge, Pocasset, Rush 
Springs, Tuttle and Verden. Bailey and Acme are little inland 
towns not located on a railroad. 

Grady County is strictly an agricultural county. Cotton, 
grain, hay and livestock are the principal products. 

The total valuation of all the property in the county is $22,919,- 
693. 

School Organization. 

Grady County is divided into 95 school districts. There are 
287 school district officers. Thirty Ave of these districts employ 




TYPE OF SCHOOIv WAGONS USED AT NINNEKAH. 



two teachers, forty-eight employ only one teacher, one employs 
three and eleven employ five or more teachers. These latter are 
city, town, village and consolidated schools. In 48 of the 95 school 
districts no work above the eighth grade is attempted. 

The enumeration of scholastics in the county January, 1917. 
was 11,782. and the enrollment in the schools during the year clos- 
ing June 30, 1917, was 11,059 and the average daily attendance 
during the same school year was 6,554. 

The enrollment in the graded schools of consolidated, village 
and town districts was 5,802 for the year closing June 30, 1917, and 



Gkadv County 



65 



the average attendance was 3,730 while the ungraded rural 
schools had an enrollment of 5,257 for the same period and an 
average daily attendance of 2,824. 

During the school year closing June 30, 1917, the consolidated, 
village, town and city districts spent $109,125.21 to provide schools 
for the 5,802 pupils enrolled, while the rural districts spent 
$72,045.52 to provide schools for the 5,257 children enrolled in 
these districts. In other words and figures, the districts having 
graded schools spent $18.80 for each person enrolled while the 
rural districts having the ungraded schools spent $13.70 for each 
pupil, a difference of $5.10 in favor of each child attending a 
graded school. 

The average length of the school term during tlie school year 
closing June 30, 1917, Avas as follows: 

Independent districts 9 months, 

Village districts 8 4-7 months. 



Rural districts 



5-8 months. 



El Meta Bond College, a private institution, and the Oklahoma 




A REPUBLIC TRUCK USED FOR TRANSPORTING' PUPILS TO 
THE AMBER SCHOOL. 



Woman's College maintained by the state are located in this 
county. They are not included in this survey, however. 

The rate of taxation in districts employing three teachers or 
more are as follows: 

Town No. Teachers Rate of Enum- 
Levy mills eration 

Consolidated District No. 28, Amber 10 10.7 384 

Consolidated District No. 51, Niimekah 9 15. 351 

Union Graded District No. 131, Norge 5 9. 

District Number 1, Chickasha 60 8.7 3216 



66 School Survey Suggestion 

District Number 56, Alex 7 11.6 277 

District Number 63, Bradley 6 13. 230 

District Number 11, Acme 3 7. 79 

District Number 2, Minco 8 6.8 266 

District Number 26, Pocasset 5 8. 152 

District No. 68, Rush Springs 12 8.8 385 

District Number 3, Tuttle 9 11. 324 

District Number 130, Verden 7 12.3 284 

The levies in schools employing one and two teachers vary 
from 2 to 15 mills. 

The county has only one city school, eight toAvn and village 
schools, two consolidated schools, one union graded school and 
39 schools in which two teachers are employed. In all of these 
two-teacher districts some high school work is offered. Therefore, 
consolidation has proceeded farther in this county than in 
either Alfalfa or Wagoner County and high school work is available 
for more children here than in many other counties. 

As shown by the illustrations, the school buildings are of the 
conventional type, lighted on two sides and in many cases not 
provided with cloakrooms. They are better equipped as a rule 
than the schools in the other counties, however. This is probably 
due in a large measure to the efforts of Supt. Shephard in attempt- 
ing to standardize his rural schools. 

During the month of October, I spent three • days visiting 
schools in Grady County. I was accompanied at this time by 
Dr. J. C. Muerman of the National Bureau of Education, by State 
Superintendent R. II. Wilson who was the first county superin- 
tendent of Grady County and by County Superintendent M. H. 
Shepard. One week during February and two days during 
March were spent inspecting the schools in all parts of the county 
and looking up statistical information in the office of the county 
superintendent. Superintendent Shepard has on file in his 
office information such as I was seeking with respect to each 
school district, so it was not necessary to visit all of his schools in 
order to get a general idea of conditions. Inspections were made 
of five one-teacher schools, eleven tAvo-teacher schools, one three- 
teacher school, two consolidated schools, one union graded school 
and five town and village schools. The schools inspected are 
located in all sections of the county. 

SUMMARY. 

In addition to the twenty-five schools inspected in this county, 
reports were received from fifty-six others, making a total of 
eighty-one schools included in this summary. 

The schools are Avell equipped with musical instruments, there 



Grady County 



67 



being 53 organs, 31 victrolas, and 18 pianos owned by the 81 dis- 
tricts. 

More than one-half of the schools are safeguarding the water 
supply of the pupils, there being 47 sanitary drinking fountains 
or water coolers owned by 81 districts. ' 

Only five of the 81 districts report no U. S. flag. 

Ten of the 81 districts have no large dictionary. 

Nineteen of the 81 districts have no globes. 

Sixty-three of the 81 districts report libraries of from 5 to 800 
volumes. But many of these libraries are not well selected, the 
books being too far advanced for the pupils enrolled in the schools. 
Several of the 18 districts reporting no libraries have encyclo- 
paedias. 

Twenty-two of the 81 districts have agricultural charts. There 
are more primary reading charts in the county than are usually 
found. 

The outside toilets are better cared for in this county than 




MODERN OUTHOUSE IN RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 84, GRADY CO. 



in either Alfalfa or Wagoner, due in large measure to the 
insistence of Supt. Shepard who demands that school boards and 
teachers shall maintain sanitary conditions around the school 
premises. A large number of these toilets are provided with 
pits and these are cared for in such a way as to keep down the 
odors and flies. Several are constructed in such a way as to 
provide ventilation through vent pipes. Health conditions in the 
state will be improved when the schools and homes are provided 
with outside toilets constructed like those now being built in 
Grady County. 

Reports of individual schools in Grady County are omitted 



1)8 School Surv^ey Suggestion 

because of sameness and lack of space and time. The illustrations 
show in a general way the character of the grounds and buildings. 
The following recommendations are based upon the data 
gathered at the times these inspections were made, from the reports 
on fife in the office of the county superintendent, and from 
observations made with respect to topography and road conditions 
in all sections of the county. 



CONSOLIDATED GROUP. 

Amber Ninnekah Norge 

Consolidated Consodilated Union 

Graded 

Dist. 28 Dist. 51 Dist. 131 

Valuation, 1917 $1,122,308.00 $899,375.00 $537,848.00 

Area( sq. miles) 561/2 40 21 

General Levy (mills) 8 15 9 

Approved Estimate 11,960.00 13,183.00 5.477.00 

Number of Teachers 10 9 5 

Enumeration, 1917, 384 351 * 

Enrollment. 1917, 379 395 * 

Average Attendance, 1917. 256 220 * 

Enrollment by Grades, 1918 

Primary 45 50 19 

First 17 29 8 

Second 19 26 14 

Third 40 54 13 

Fourth 34 36 7 

Fifth 12 35 12 

Sixth 12 37 10 

Seventh 19 24 15 

Eighth 10 26 11 

Ninth 19 17 1 

Tenth 13 15 

Eleventh 12 9 

Twelfth 13 4 

Total 265 362 110 

Length of term (months) 9 9 9 

Number of wagons used 6 6 



* 



Organized during June, 1917. 



Gkadv Colntv 

GRADY COWMTY 



{)9 



9f e.K. 

ft. S OC 




70 



School Survey Suggestion 



The information given in tabulated form above may be used as a 
basis of comparison by the people of each group. Attention is 
called to the fact that in the consolidated districts the several 
grades are large, consequently there is more rivalry on the part 
of the pupils enrolled than in the smaller classes of schools 




AMBER COlSrSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 



employing only one teacher and the larger number of teachers 
employed makes it possible for each grade to receive more attention 
from the teacher. The enrollment by grades is based upon 
reports received by the county superintendent in December, 1917. 
The unior. graded district was organized during the summer 




NIXNEKAH CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL. 



Grady County 



71 



of 1917. The central building in this district has now been 
completed. This district is now prepared to build a strong hign 
school for its pupils. The December enrollment reported above 
liad increased materially at the time the school was inspected 
during February, 1918. 

Amber, Ninnekah, and Norge show the disadvantages of 
sporadic consolidation as each of these three districts has cut off 
one or more little weak districts from future consolidation to 
the best advantage of all the people and has made it necessary to 




UNION GRADED SCHOOL, NEAR NORGE. 



include them in groups that are not nearly so convenient or 
desirable as the groups in which they would have been placed by 
a county reorganization plan such as is recommended. (See map 
of Grady County.) 

Under a county unit plan of school administration, it would 
be possible to rearrange district lines in such a way as to suit 
the present needs of the people with respect to high school 
advantages for all. 



72 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP ONE. 

Dist. 116 Dist. 117 Dist. 118 Dist. 119 Total 

Area sq. mi. 71/2 9 8 71/2 32 

Valuation $98,110.00 $102,246.00 $83,469.00 $112,250.00 $396,075.00 

Gen. levy (m.) 6 6.2 6.6 8 

Approved est. 663.00 788.00 846.00 1,023.00 3,290.00 

No. Teachers 1112 5 

Enum. 1917 44 43 52 77 216 

Enrol., 1917 37 34 52 77 200 

Av. Att. 1917 20 20 40 55 135 
Enr. by grades, 1918: 

Primary 5 14 19 

First 2 4' 8 4 20 

Second 3 4 2 5 14 

Third 3 3 9 7 22 

Fourth 3 5 8 8 24 

Fifth 3 9 5 17 

Sixth 4 4 2 3 13 

Seventh 4 1 8 11 24 

Eighth 5 1 5 1 12 

Ninth 3 3 

Tenth 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 32 22 51 61 166 

Length of term 8 8 7 9 
No. of Pupils 

Transferred to 

other districts 4 4 3 1 12 

Bv adding to this group the north half of Districts 124 and 
125, the area is increased to approximately 40 square miles, the 
valuation approaches $500,000 and the enumeration will be about 
250. The Broxton Consolidated District, No. 68 Caddo County, 
having an area of 40y2 square miles and a taxable valuation of 
$450,000 should be used as a basis of comparison by the people 
living in this group. The group can maintain as good a consol- 
idated school as that at Broxton. Also compare this group with 
the Ninnekah district reported herein. A schoolhous*^ located 
in the center of this group would be less than seven miles from 
the most distant homes. 

It is recommended that the people living in this group of 
districts visit the schools at Ninnekali and Norge and decide for 
themselves whether they prefer the union graded school district 
or the consolidated school. Either type will prove far better tnan 
the little schools now provided by the district. A union graded 




THE WING SCHOOL FOR FIRST SIX GRADES AND CENTRAL SCHOOL 
FOR SEVENTH, EIGHTH AND HIGH SCHOOL GRADES, 
UNION GRADED DISTRICT NO. 131. 



74 



School Survey Suggestion 



district could be maintained here at a cost very little greater than 
that of the present schools. 

This territory consists of rolling prairie land having good 
dirt roads except in the western section where some sand is 
found but not enough to make the transportation of pupils impos- 
sible. The children living on the farms situated in this group 
are not getting a square deal at present. 



GROUP TWO. 

Dist. 93 Dist. 94 Dist. 126 Dist. 127 Total 

Area sq. mi. 71/2 9 9 71/2 33 

Valuation $160,940.00 $139,960.00 $154,155.00 $155;223.00 $610,278.00 

Gen. Levy m. 8 5.4 7.5 9.2 

Appvd. Est. 1,308.00 825.00 1,145.00 1,590.00 4,868.00 

No. teachers ... 2 1 2 2 7 
Length of school 

term mo 8 8 7 7 

Enum. 1917 54 42 52 65 213 

Enr'l'mt '17 78 40 51 64 233 

Av. Att. 1917 52 17 37 39 145 
Enrollment by Grades, 1918: 

Primary 10 7 3 9 29 

First 1 7 6 6 20 

Second 4 10 4 9 

Third 3 6 5 4 18 

Fourth 5 5 5 • 15 

Fifth 8 1 4 5 18 

Sixth 6 7 3 3 19 

Seventh 5 2 7 7 21 

Eighth 2 3 7 1 13 

Ninth 11 

Tenth 5 117 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 49 34 42 46 171 

Transf. to other 

districts 1 8 1 10 

By including in this group the south half of districts 124 
and 125 we have an area of approximately 41 square miles, a total 
valuation slightly in excess of $700,000 and an enumeration of 
about 350 scholastics. The center of the district is -v^athin less than 
seven miles of the comers so that a central consolidated school 
need not be located at an unreasonable distance from any home. 
The roads in this section of the county are good. Pupils can be 
transported to a central school where they will have such ad- 



Grady County 



75 



vantages as the Ninnekah and Amber children enjoy; or the upper 
grades can be consolidated as at Norge. 

All legal requirements can be met by this group of districts. 

The records show that ten children have been transferred 
from these to other districts. The amount of money transferred 
will be at least $500. This amount will increase from year to 
year as transfers become more common. As a result, the tax- 
payers will soon pay as much for the little schools now maintained 
as the additional cost of a centralized school. First class school 
work cannot be done under the conditions now existing in these 
districts with the limited teaching force and equipment that can 
be afforded, yet the boys and girls m the rural communities are 
entitled to as much opportunity and as much training as are the 
boys and girls of the city of Chickasha. 




SCHOOL HOUSE AT VERDEN. THIS IS NOW A CONSOLIDATED 
SCHOOL, HAVING ORGANIZED SINCE THE SURVEY WAS MADE. 

GROUP THREE. 

This group should consist of districts 13 and 130 to which 
should be added seven square miles of district 39, five square miles 
of district 10 and one or more districts in Caddo County. Because 
of the fact that part of this territory lies in Caddo County and only 
two entire districts situated in Grady County are given, a detailed 
statement of area, valuation, population and enrollment is not 
given. The Verden district, No. 130, has a property valuation in 
excess of $500,000; therefore, it can consolidate with any of the 
other districts or parts of districts included in the group, as an 
area of 25 square miles is not required for districts having more 
-than $500,000. 



76 



School Survey Suggestion 



A new school building has been erected in district 39. This 
is a splendid two-room and two-teacher school. The old building 
has been converted into a teacherage. It is very improbable 
that the people in this dsitrict will look favorably upon a consol- 
idation project until after they have demonstrated to their own 
satisfaction that they cannot maintain as good school in their 
new building as can be maintained at Verden. Because of its 
location, this district must depend upon the Verden district for 
high school advantages. 

District No. 10 has a very poor school building with practically 
no equipment except the furniture. This district should not 
perpetuate the ungraded school by building a new school house, 
especially since it is located so conveniently with respect to both 




SCHOOL. IX DISTRICT NO. 10. 



Verden and Chickasha. I am suggesting that the district be 
divided between Verden and Chickasha districts to suit the 
convenience of the people. 

A good school is now maintained by the Verden district. 
This district cannot by itself maintain as strong a school as the 
pupils in the adjoining districts are entitled to have. Only by enlarg- 
ing the district through the organization of a union graded or con- 
solidated district can the people in these rural districts guarantee a 
strong school for their children. 

The roads in this section of the county are very good. Trans- 
portation of pupils will not prove burdensome. The valuation of 
the proposed district will be found equal to or greater than that 
of the Ninnekah district and the area will not be so great. ^ A 
consolidated district is recommended for this group but a union 
graded district will prove much better than the present arrange- 



Grady County 



77 



ment under which no standard high school advantages can be 
offered the boys and girls li\dng in these little rural districts and at- 
tending the one and two-room schools. 

GROUP FOUR. 



Dist. 43 

Area (sq. miles) 6l^ 

Valuation $103,696.00 

General Levy (mills) 9.5 

Approved estimate 1,132.00 

No. of Teachers 1 

Enumeration, 1917 80 

Enrollment, 1917 76 

Average Attendance, 1917 38 
Enrollment by Grades, 1918: 

Primary 8 

First 3 

Second 6 

Third 6 

Fourth 7 

Fifth 7 

Sixth 3 

Seventh 3 

Eighth 2 

Ninth 

Tenth 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 45 

Length of Term 7 

No. Pupils Transferred to 

Other Districts 3 

No. Pupils Transferred to 

this District 



Dist. 44 

61/2 

$163,290.00 

7 

1,424.00 

2 

81 

64 

40 

6 
4- 
6 
7 
7 
2 
2 
4 
5 
3 



46 



10 




Dist. 79 Total 

21^ 15 

$79,150.00 $346,136.00 
4.3 



530.00 

1 

41 

35 

18 


7 
4 
9 
3 
6 
3 
5 
2 




39 
7 



10 



3,086.00 

4 

202 

175 

96 

14 

14 

16 

22 

17 

15 

8 

12 

9 

3 





130 

13 
10 



By adding to this group three square miles noAV in district 39. 
the area, valuation and school population would be increased 
somewhat. This group does not have sufficient area to. organize 
a consolidated district but it could maintain a strong union graded 
school such as is maintained at Norge. 

By joining with one or two districts in Caddo County, 
however, a consolidated district may be organized. 



78 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP FIVE. 

Dist. 75 Dist. 76 Dist. 77 Dist. 78 Total 

Area, sq. m. 71/2 101/2 41/2 81/2 31 

Valuation $100,630.00 $134,650.00 $82,650.00 $104,100.00 $422,030.00 

Gen. levy m. 2.8 8.4 9.1 10 

Approved est. 600.00 1,460.00 877.00 1,680.00 4,617.00 

No. Teachers 12 12 6 

Enum. 1917 70 79 70 53 272 

Enr., 1917 50 52 53 50 205 

Av. Att., 1917 32 40 23 24 119 
Enrollment by Grades, 1918: 

Primary 7 11 5 5 28 

First 4 5 5 3 17 

Second 4 9 3 3 19 

Third 4 5 10 19 

Fourth 4 8 13 25 

Fifth 3 6 4 8 21 

Sixth "2 5 14 6 27 

Seventh 4 4 8 3 19 

Eighth 3 5 8 

Ninth 2 2 

Tenth 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 00000 

Total 34 53 65 33 185 

Pupils Transferred 

to other dist. 10 6 

This group includes the four districts located in Chandler 

township. Territory in Caddo County belonging to districts 

77 and 78 should be included in the total area. 



16 




NEW TWO-ROOM BUILDING- IN DISTRICT NO. 78, DUE TO THE IN- 
FLUENCE OF THE NORGE UNION GRADED DISTRICT. 



Grady County 



79 



A union graded school is recommended for this group at this 
time. This may be changed into a consolidated school later as 
the roads are improved and the valuation increased. However, 
consolidation would not be impracticable now, but it would be 
more burdensome than a union graded school. 



GROUP SIX. 

Dist. 8 Dist. 20 

Area (sq. miles) 6I/4 '^V2 

Valuation $ 76,200.00 $117,450.00 

General Levy (mills) 15 5 

Approved Estimate 1,323.00 971.00 

Number of Teachers 2 2 

Enumeration, 1917 68 103 

Enrollment, 1917 49 68 

Av. Attendance, 1917 47 44 



Dist. 25 


Total 


IV2 


211/4 


'$95,345.00 $288,995.00 


3.1 




650.00 


2,844.00 


1 


5 


63 


234 


59 


176 



27 



118 




SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 20. 



This group of districts is eight miles long and two and one- 
half miles wide. A school can be located near the center of the 
group in such position that is will be not more than five and one- 
half miles from any corner of the larger district. The roads in 
this section of the county are not good enough at this time to 
make consolidation advisable but a good union graded school could 
be maintained by this group at a cost not greatly in excess of the 
cost of the present schools. This group of districts is rich in the 
number of children enumerated. Better educational opportunities 
should be provided for them. As the country develops and the 
roads are improved, it may be thought best later to consolidate 
Group Six with Group Seven. Buildings provided for the union 



80 School Survey Suggestion 

graded districts should be erected with this prospect in mind. A 
good central school would contribute more to the developement of 
this part of the county and to the improvement of the roads than 
any other enterprise that might be established. 

GROUP SEVEN. 

Dist. 7 Dist. 11 Dist 19 Total 

Area (sq. miles) 71/4 9 9 251/4 

Valuation $ 91,290.00 $184,262.00 $115,350.00 $390,902.00 

(General Levy ,mills) 12 7 5.4 

Approved Estimate 1,179.00 1,750.00 1,034.00 3,963.00 

Number of Teachers 2 3 2 7 

Enumeration, 1917 73 135 114 322 

Enrollment, 1917 35 139 103 277 

Av. Attendance, 1917 21 55 94 170 

Enrollment by Grades, 1918: 

Primary 6 7 16 39 

First 2 5 2 9 

Second 6 8 4 18 

Third 6 22 16 44 

Fourth 5 7 3 15 

Fifth 7 15 8 30 

Sixth 8 11 19 

Seventh 5 20 2 27 

Eighth 1 12 1 14 

Ninth 2 6 19 

Tenth 2 2 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 48 114 64 226 

Transferred to other dist. 6 2 8 

This group would form a long narrow district having the 
three room building now used by the Acme district, Number 11, 
near the center. By adding one additional room and one addit- 
ional teacher, a very good union graded school can be maintained 
at Acme during one or two years and until the high :-ichool grows. 
By leaving two teachers at the schoolhousec m districts 7 and 19 
to teach the first six grades, a well graded system may be ap- 
proximated for each of these tAvo districts. The roads in this 
group are not good enough at this time to warrant consolidation ; 
therefore, a union graded district is recommended here. It may 
prove practical to consolidate Cxroups Six and Seven later. 

At present the cost of the union graded school would be 
very little more than that of the present schools. As the high 



Grady County 



81 



school jATOws in number of piipils and grades, the cost will be 
increased. But at no time need the cost prove burdensome. 

These districts are so situated as to make it very easy to 
provide as good a school for the children living in the group as has 
bee^i provided for the children living near Norge. 




THREE-ROOM SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 11. 




TWO-ROOM BUILDING IN DISTRICT NO. 7. 



82 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP EIGHT 

Dist. 24 Dist. 83 Dist. 84 Total 

Area (sq. miles) 12 101/2 10^/2 33 

Valuation $143,090.00 $67,385.00 $244,972.00 $455,447.00 

General Levy (mills) 7 9 5 

Approved Estimate 1,400.00 763.00 1,650.00 4,113.00 

Number of Teachers 2 2 2 6 

Enumeration, 1917 140 68 78 286 

Enrollment, 1917 121 62 91 274 

Av. Attendance, 1917 55 33 72 160 

Enrollment by Grades, '18: 

Primary 4 5 9 

First 6 12 9 27 

Second 6 3 11 20 

Third 10 6 12 28 

Fourth 1 7 8 16 

Fifth 4 6 6 16 

Sixth 4 6 4 14 

Seventh 5 2 8 15 

Eighth 3 5 6 14 

Ninth 6 6 

Tenth 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 43 47 75 165 




STOVER, DISTRICT NO. S4. 



THIS IS NOW PART OF A UNION GRADED 
DISTRICT. 



This group is ten miles long by three and one-half miles wide. 
A union graded school located near the center of the group would 
be not more than six miles from any corner. At present the 



Grady County 



83 



condition of the roads is not such that consolidation is not recom- 
mended, although it would not be impracticable to transport pupils 
over the greater part of the district. A union graded school 
should be established in this group. The valuation and enrollment 
is such that a strong central school can be maintained here. The 
boys and girls are entitled to the best. 

GROUP NINE 

This group consists of districts 2 and 90 and parts of districts 
4, 5, 14 and 15. District 2, Minco, has already established a good 
high school. Inasmuch as only two entire districts are included in 
this group with parts of three others, no detailed information with 
respect to valuation and enumeration has been worked out. The 




SCHOOL, IN DISTRICT NO. 24. 

area of the proposed district, hoAvever, is less than that of the Amber 
Consolidated District and the valuation is greater. Under such 
circumstances, this group should be able to maintain a better 
school than that now maintained at Amber, on a smaller rate of 
taxation and at less inconvenience. The pupils now living in 
the Minco district have the advantage of a good graded school. 
That district would gain very little by consolidation but the adjacent 
rural districts would profit greatly by uniting Avith Minco and 
securing the advantage of the graded school already established. 
Should this group consolidate, a larger school site should be pro- 
vided in order that the pupils in the school might have practical 
work in Manual Training, Domestic Science, and Agriculture. 

The firm dirt roads in this part of the county are so good 
:that consolidation is not only practical but eminently desirable. 

District 15 is so situated that it should be divided among the 
Minco, Poc asset, Tuttle and Amber Groups. 



84 



School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP TEN. 

(Now a Union Graded District.) 

This group is composed of district 26, Pocasset, the south 
half of district 14 and the southwest fourth of district 15. The 
taxable valuation is approximately $700,000 and the area is ap- 
proximately 29 square miles. The splendid roads in this part of 
the county make consolidation entirely feasible. Should this 
group consolidate, it Avould probably be well to rearrange that 
part of the boundary of the Amber district in Pocasset township 
to enlarge this group by including in it the territory lying nearer 
to Pocasset than to AmlDer. 




SCHOOL BUILDING AT MIXCO. 



GROUP ELEVEN. 

(Now a Union Graded District.) 

Dist. 36 Dist. 89 Dist. 92 Total 

Area (sq. miles) 163/^ 614 I2V2 35% 

Valuation „ „ $334,483.00 $ 48,720.00 $129,155.00 $532,358.0© 

(xeneral Levy, (mills) 2 7 6 

Approved Estimate 1,814.00 376.00 737.00 2,927.00 

Number of Teachers 2 114 

Enumeration, 1917, 61 27 31 119 

Enrollment. 1917, 48 31 35 114 

Av. Attendance, 1917 30 22 20 72 



Grady County 85 

Enrollment by Grades, 1918 : 

Primary 5 5 2 12 

First 2 4 17 

Second 3 3 2 8 

Third 3 3 6 

Fourth 3 3 6 

Fifth 3 5 10 18 

Sixth 3 5.0 8 

Seventh 4 2 1 7 

Eighth 5 2 2 9 

Ninth 6 17 

Tenth 10 1 

Eleventh 

Twelfth 

Total 35 32 22 89 

This group of districts can maintain a good union graded 
high school or a consolidated school on its valuation. Unless high 
school facilities are provided for the boys and girls in these districts, 
many of them will seek transfers to the Chickasha high school- 
As the number of transferred pupils increases from year to year 
the transfer fees will ultimately amount to as much as the extra 
cost of a good union high school. By establishing a union graded 
school somewhere near the center of this group, the boy and girl 
living in the northwest corner too far away to drive to Chickasha or 
Verden each day and unable to pay board in town will be' provided 
for. Also the people who patronize the school will own it and 
be in a position to dictate the course of study which their children 
are to take. A strong course in Agriculture and related subjects 
should be offered in this school. 

GROUP TWELVE. 

The city of Chickasha maintains a most excellent school with 
a large enrollment from adjacent districts. The boundaries of 
this district should be enlarged so as to include that part of 
District No. 10 which is nearer to Chickasha than to Verden. 

The public schools of the city of Chickasha rank among the 
best in the state. One progressive feature of this school system is 
the junior high school department in which pupils of the seventh, 
eighth and ninth grades are enrolled. A splendid new building 
has been erected and set aside for the use of the junior high school. 
The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades occupy the old high school 
building. 

The Chickasha high school offers the normal training course 
and in this way influences the rural education of Grady County. 
This high school is fully accredited. 



86 School Survey Suggestion 

District No. 1, Chickasha, employs sixty teachers and has 
seven buildings. The rate of levy is 8.7 mills for general purposes 
on a vaulation of $8,079,521. 

This district is spending $30.68 per capita for the education 
of its children, the approved estimate being $68,735 and the 
enrollment in the schools being 2,240. The junior high school 
has enrolled 411 pupils in the seventh and eighth grades. There 
are 317 enrolled in the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades; 
about 25 of these latter live in other districts. There are 28 
teachers employed in the high schools, 14 in the Junior and 14 in 
the Senior. 

GROUP THIRTEEN. 

This group consist^ of District 58, the north half of Districts 
12 and 59, the northwest one-fourth of District 60 and the western 
part of District 57. Since the group is composed largely of 
fractional parts of districts, no attempt is made to give in detail 
statistics of enumeration, area, valuation, etc. There is considerable 
sand in this section of the county; therefore, consolidation is not 
recommended for this district for the present. However, the territory 
should be re-districted to suit the present needs and a union 
graded school composed of the new districts should be organized 
in order that the children in this group may have such school 
advantages as they need. 

GROUP FOURTEEN. 

This group consists of Districts 68 and 69, the south half of 
Districts 12 and 59, the southwest fourth of District 50, and the west 
half of Districts 98 nnd 70. Because of the fact that this group is 
composed largely of fractional parts of districts, no detailed statis- 
tics are given. There is too much sand in the roads in this section 
to make consolidation advisable here at present, but a union graded 
school established at Rush Springs would provide educational 
facilities far superior to those enjoyed by pupils in the little rural 
schools at present. 

GROUP FIFTEEN 

Dist. 3 Dist, 6 Dist. 16 Dist. 91 Total 

Area sq. m. 121/2 11 9 51/2 38 

Valuation $591,078.00 $150,723.00 $109,896.00 $155,932.00 1,007,629.00 



T CiiJ. I.I.C4 I Xl^ii t^tJ 

Gren. levy m. 


11 


3.9 


6 . 


3.6 


' 


Ap'v'd Est. 


7,613.00 


813.00 


752.00 


847.00 


10,025.00 


No. Teachers 


9 


1 


1 


1 


12 


Enum.. 1917 


324 


65 


32 


46 


467 


Enr., 1917 


364 


46 


17 


47 


474 


Av. Att. 1917 


259 


29 


9 


21 


318 



Grady County 



87 



Enrollment by Grades, 1918: 

First • 39 18 4 7 68 

Second 34 6 3 3 46 

Third 38 14 7 59 

Fourth 27 14 4 4 49 

Fifth 40 8 5 3 56 

Sixth 22 7 2 4 35 

Seventh 33 2 5 40 

Eighth 21 4 3 28 

Ninth 10 10 

Tenth 15 15 

Eleventh 6 6 

Twelfth 6 6 

Total 291 73 21 33 418 

This group is arranged around the town of Tuttle where a 
good graded school has already been established by the people 
living in District No. 3. By including in this group the wesst 
half of Districts 4 and 5 and the northeast one-fourth of District 15, 
the area will be increased to approximately fifty square miles 
and the valuation will be increased to more than $1,000,000. 
The school population will be increased slightly. Compare this 
group with the Amber school district. 

Should this group be organized as a consolidated school, the 
high school should be located on a site containing not less than 
ten acres and the school should be made to serve the entire district 
placing special emphasis on the teaching of Agriculture. 




SCHOOL BUILDING AT TUTTLE. 



88 



School Survey Suggestion 




WORLEY CREEK DIST. NO. 6. 

The Worley Creek School, District b, is overcrowded. One 
teacher cannot teach 73 pupils successfully. The school building 
is dilapidated, poorly lighted and lacking in every modern con- 
venience. This district should make it possible for its child^-en 
to attend a good graded school. Consolidation is their only 
salvv.tion. 

The Campbell School, District 16, and the Silver City School, 
District 91, are not crowded as badly as the Worley Creek School, 
and the buildings in these districts are not so dilapidated. But 
neither of these schools can do efficient work with the limited 
equipment and time available. Each of the teachers in these 
two districts has 28 recitation periods per day, while the teacher 
at Worlev Creek has 36 dailv recitations to conduct. The time 




CAMPBELL, SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 16. 



Grady County 



89 



devoted to each grade is necessarily short, ranging from twenty 
minutes to eighty minutes per day. In a consolidated school each 
grade would be large enough to require the services of one tea-eher 
and, therefore, each grade would receive attention during 330 
minutes each day. 

The children in District 3 are already provided with a graded 
school, so they have less to gain through consolidation than have 
the children liAdng in the adjacent rural schools. 

Enough horses were on the school grounds the day the schools 
were inspected to furnish transportation for all the children in the 
group of districts. 

At present no satisfactory high school work can be done iji 
the little rural schools employing one and two teachers. The 
pupils in districts adjoining the Tuttle district will necessarily 




SILVER CITY SCHOOL, DISTRICT NO. 91. 



depend upon the Tuttle school for high school opportunities. But 
District 3 cannot by itself maintain as strong a school as the 
pupils in this section of the county need. Every parent in this 
group of districts is or should be interested in a stronger school 
for his children than can be had under present conditions. By 
consolidation it is possible to have such a school as is needed. 

A union graded school would be a decided improvement over 
the present system but this would not provide the relief needed. 
It would at best be only a partial solution. The conditions here 
are favorable to the organization of a consolidated school in 
which all pupils will be benefited to the same extent, and such is 
recommended. 



90 



School Survey Suggestion 



District 87 

Oak School 

This district is situated so that it does not fit into any of the 
groups as a whole but can easily be divided and distributed among 
the surrounding groups, part going to the Tuttle group, part going 
to the Amber district and part going to Group Twenty One on the 
east composed of Districts 17, 18, 21 and 22. 




TOP— REAR AND FRONT VIEW OF SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 16— 
BOTTOM— TEACHERAGE IN DIST NO. 16. 

GROUP SIXTEEN. 

This group, composed of Districts 37 and 38 and the south 
half of District 34, has a property valuation of approximately 
$650,000, an area of approximately 30 square miles and a school 
population of about 250. Districts 37 and 38 maintain two teacher 
schools and offer such high school work as can be done in schools 
of this type. Only one teacher is employed in District 34. It is 



Grady County 91 

suggested that the north half of District 34 be attached to the 
Amber Consolidated District, but it would not be impracticable to 
include all of this district in this group. 

This group of districts could easily maintain a good con- 
solidated school, as transportation would not prove burdensome in 
this section of the county. Since Districts 37 and 38 have good 
school buildings, however, it would probably be best to organize 
a union graded district out of the territory included in this group. 
Later, the union graded school can be transformed into a good con- 
solidated school. A school can be located in this group not more 
than six and one-half miles from the farthest home. 

GROUP SEVENTEEN. 

This group consists of Districts 47 and 48, having a combined 
area of 28 square miles with a taxable valuation of $487,796, and 
an enumeration of 204 scholastics. A strip one mile wide should 
probably be detached from District 52 and added to this group. 
The taxable valuation would then be approximately $500,000 and 
the area about 32 square miles. 

Two teachers are employed in each of these two districts at 
present and two years of high school work is offered in each 
school. Eleven pupils are enrolled in the high school grades and 
eleven are in the eighth grade in these two schools, this being a 
splendid showing for these rural districts. Next year there will 
be three high school grades in each school, or it will be necessary 
to transfer pupils to districts offering work in the eleventh grade. 
It is very evident that the parents and pupils in these two districts 
are progressive and ambitious. They are to be commended. 

A strong school can be maintained by these two districts com- 
bining either as a union graded district or as a consolidated district. 

GROUP EIGHTEEN. 

All of District 46, 

All of District 52 

All of District 52, 

One mile strip from west side of District 55, 

The east two-thirds of District 57. 
This group of districts has a total area less than 50 square 
miles and a valuation in excess of $800,000. The scholastic 
population of the proposed district is approximately 475. 

The area of this group is rather large for this section of the 
county, but a consolidated district can be maintained by the people 
living in this territory. Compare with the Amber and Ninnekah 
districts. A strong union graded school would be better than the 



&2 School Survey Suggestion 

present system and would form the basis of a future consolidation. 
Because of the fact that fractional parts of districts are 
included in this combination, no detailed statisticts are given. 
Persons interested can secure the necessary statistics from the 
office of the county superintendent. By detaching a strip one 
mile wide from the north of District 52 and attaching it to 
Group Seventeen, no home need be at an unreasoneble distance from 
the consolidated schoolhouse. 

GROUP NINETEEN. 

All of Districts 60, 61 and G6, 
Parts of Districts 65, 71, 72 and 99. 

Because of the small valuation and present condition of 
the roads, this group of districts should not attempt to consolidate at 
present. However, a union graded school might be arranged. 
Such school could be maintained at a cost very little greater than 
that of the present schools. 

GROUP TWENTY. 

All of Districts 81 and 82 

Parts of Districts 70. 71. 72 and 80, 

At present this group has such a limited valuation that con- 
solidation is not advised. A union graded high school is possible, 
however, and should be provided for the pupils in this section 
of the county, since many of them are now 18 miles from the 
nearest high school. 

A union graded district managed on a modest scale would not 
entail a cost very much greater than the cost of the present schools 
in this group. 

The county superintendent can funiish detailed statistics 
concerning this group of districts to any person interested in 
reorganization. 

District No. 9. 

This district located in the northeast corner of Grady County 
can enter a combination of districts in McClain County. Or. a group 
consisting of Districts 6. 9. 17 and 18 could be formed. It is 
also possible for this district to enter the Tuttle Group, or Group 21. 
AA*ith which it is included on the map. but this is not recommended 
on account of the distance unless auto-busses are used to transport 
the children from this district to Tuttle. 



Grady County 93 



GROUP TWENTY-ONE. 



Dist. 17 Dist. 18 Dist. 21 Dist. 22 Total 
Area sq. m. 101/2 IQi/o 101/2 9 401/2 

Valuation $ 53,760.00 $ 65,200.00 $ 74,480.00 $ 38,915.00 $238,355.00 



Gen. levy m 


7 


11.3 


10 


10 


38.3 


App. Est 


443.00 


883.00 


877.00 


441.00 


2,643.00 


No. Teachers 


1 


1 


2 


1 


5 


Length of 












School term 


7 


8 


8 


7 




Enum., 1917 


53 


87 


101 


45 


2S6 


Enr., 1917 


55 


62 


100 


44 


261 


Av. Att., 1917 


32 


42 


47 


22 


143 



This group has a relatively large area Avhen compared to the 
valuation. There is considerable rough ground in the southern 
part of this group. Under the circumstances, consolidation should 
not be undertaken by these districts at this time, but a union graded 
school can easily be maintained by them. Only one pupil is 
reported as doing high school work in the three districts of 
this group, from which reports were received. This is a very 
poor showing. 

A union graded school located near the center of this group 
^rould not prove burdensome to the taxpayers and would be a great 
incentive to pupils to complete the eighth grade and do high grade 
work. Such a school would be worth immeasurably more than 
it would cost. 

Districts 30 and 31. 

A petition praying that District 30 be attached to the Amber 
Consolidated District was being circulated in District 30 during 
March, 1918. People now residing in District 30 but who formerly 
resided in Amber district were in charge of the petition. If attached, 
the northeast comer of the district will be ten or more miles from the 
Amber school. The people who are circulating the petition realize 
that this is true, yet they are very anxious to get into the con- 
solidated district. This is one of the best arguments that can be 
found for consolidation. Since Amber is introducing the auto-bus 
as a means of transportation, this distance will probably not be 
too great. 

District 31 should be included in Group Twenty-two. Because 
of the roads, pastures and canyons in this section of the county, it 
^\ill be difficult to include these districts in other groups. 

GROUP TWENTY-TWO. 

Districts 31, 32, 33, 40 and 86. 
This group has an area of approximately 40 square miles and 



94 School Survey Suggestion 

a valuation of $382,766. The scholastics enumerated number onlv 
228. 

Because of the rough terrain, it is suggested that a union 
graded district would be best for this group of districts at present. 
It would not be advisable to assume the obligations of transportation 
while this part of the county has such road conditions and low 
valuation as it now has. But a union graded district organized 
now may prove the basis of a good consolidated district in the 
future. 

GROUP TWENTY-THREE. 

Districts 45, 53, 54 and 67. 

This group has an area of approximately 40 square miles 
with a taxable valuation of only $243,740 and an enumeration 
of 346 scholastics. The same conditions are found here that 
are found in the districts included in Group Twenty-two. A union 
graded school can be maintained by this group at present and 
steps should be taken to organize one in the near future in order 
that the large number of scholastics may be afforded better educat- 
ional advantages than they can have under the present plan of or- 
ganization. 

GROUP TWENTY-FOUR. 

Districts 63 and 64 and parts of 55 and 56. 

The Bradley District, No. 63, was enlarged recently by the an- 
nexation of District 62. The town of Bradley is near the center of 
this group. 

The valuation of taxable property included in this group is 
in excess to $500,000. the enumeration of scholastics is approximately 
475 and the area is about 36 square miles. 

This group of districts could easily maintain a good consol- 
idated school in which all pupils would have the advantages of 
close gradation. 

The pupils in this group of districts are entitled to better 
school than the Bradley district alone can maintain. Inasmuch as 
the pupils living in outlying rural districts must depend upon 
Bradley for high school advantages, it seems wise for these 
districts to unite and co-operate in building a strong school rather 
than remain as they are and maintain several relatively weak and 
inefficient schools. A union graded school would afford some 
relief, but consolidation is recommended to the people of this 
group. 



Grady County 95 



GROUP TWENTY-FIVE. 

Districts 73 and 74 and parts of Districts 64, 65, 72 and 80^ 

This group of districts has a combined property valuation of 
about $200,000 and an area of 40 square miles. It is apparent 
that a consolidated school cannot be maintained on the present 
valuation and with the present area. As the county developes, 
however, this territory will become a potential consolidated district. 
At present a union graded school located at the center of the 
group would be seven miles from any corner of the district and 
would provide high school advantages for the children living in this 
section. In order to include all of this territory in the group, so 
that a union graded district may be organized, it will be neces- 
sary to readjust the western boundaries. 



96 School Survey Sugges fjon 



WAGONER COUNTY 

Wagoner County is situated in the eastern part of Oklahoma 
and is bounded on the north by Rogers and Mayes Counties, on 
the east by the Clrand River which forms the dividing line between 
Wagoner and Cherokee Counties, on the south by Muskogee and 
Okmulgee Counties, the Arkansas River forming a large part of 
the boundary between Wagoner and Muskogee Counties, and on 
the Avest by Tulsa County. The Verdigris River which forms part of 
the boundary between Rogers and Wagoner Counties flows across 
Wagoner County dividing it into two parts almost equal in area, 
the larger part being west of the river. The Arkansas River 
meanders across the southeastern part of this county also. 

Near these streams some hills are foumd and native timber 
thrives, but the major part of the county consists of rolling and level 
prairies or level bottom land. As a rule, the roads are not so 
good in those districts near the streams as they are in districts on 
the prairies, but considerable improvement of the public highways 
has been made during the past year and rapid improvement will be 
made henceforth, now that the people are thoroughly aroused to 
the economic value and importance of good roads. 

The principal town is Wagoner, the county seat located in that 
part of the county between the Verdigris and Grand Rivers. North 
Muskogee in the southeastern part of the county is a small village 
having tAvo railroads. CoAveta is the principal or largest toAvn Avest 
of the Verdigris. Porter, in the southern part of this section, is 
a village almost as large as CoAveta, and Stone Bluff in the 
southAvestern corner of the county is a ncAv toAAOi that has groAA'u 
recently because of the discoA-ery of oil in that part of the 
county. Red Bird and Tullahassee in the southern part of the 
county are villages populated principally by negroes. 

Two main lines of the Katy railroad (M, K, & T.) cross 
this county, one line crossing from south to north and the other 
from southeast to nortliAvest. The Iron ]\rountain (St.L. I. M. & 
S.) and the Missouri Oklahoma and Gulf Railroads also cross the 
county from north to south. The Midland Valley Railroad crosses the 
southAvestern corner of the county passing through Stone Bluff 
toAvnship. 

Unlike Alfalfa County. Wagoner has a mixed population. ,It 
AA-as formerly a part of Indian Territory. The Federal Census 
of 1910 credited the county Avith a population of 12.338 whites, 
987 persons of Indian descent and 8.761 colored, or a total of 
22.086. This population has. no doubt, increased. 

The school enumeration for 1917 shoAvs 4.292 Avhite and 



Wagoner County 97 

Indian scholastics and 2,608 colored scholastics, or a total of 
6,900 3diieatable children- 
Oil and gas have been discovered in the western part of the 
county around Coweta and Stone Bluff. Some shallow deposits 
of coal are also found, but the principal industry of the county 
is Agriculture and Stockraising. With the exception of Stone 
Bluff, the towns and villages depend upon .the farming industry 
for their prosperity. The interests of the people living in the 
to\^Tis and villages and those living on the farms are identical. 
Cotton and grain are the principal crops raised in the county. 

The county has an approximate area of 568 square miles ; the 
total assessed valuation of taxable property located in the county 
is $14,032,980. 

SCHOOL RESOURCES 

The school districts of "Wagoner County were not organized 
until 1907, and practically all of the rural school buildings in the 
county were erected after that time. As a result, the bonds that 
were issued for the purpose of building and equipping these 
schools have not yet been redeemed. The bonds issued by 53 of 
the districts are twenty year bonds that will not mature before 
1928. 

During December I inspected 33 rural and 3 town schools 
in "Wagoner County and received reports from 17 rural districts 
that were not visited. The schools inspected are located in all 
sections of the county and are attended by white children. The 
following facts and figures are based upon the inspections and 
reports of these fifty rural schools visited and reported. 

Only nine of these schools have playground equipment. Only 
ten of the buildings have entrance halls or cloakrooms. Nine 
of the fifty schools have no wells or source of water supply ; fifteen 
secure drinking water from open wells on the school ground; 
twenty-one have wells protected or closed with cement curbs ; and 
five did not report on the water supply. None of the privies 
has pits and only two districts have built screens about these 
outhouses. Trees have been planted on eleven school sites, the 
others are bare or have native trees growing on them. Nineteen 
districts have some books for the libraries, but only five have books 
suitable for primary pupils. Thirteen of the schools have some 
books that are too advanced for the pupils enrolled in the schools. 
Twenty-two districts have bought expensive charts that are of little 
use, seventeen of these districts have as many as two of these charts. 
Thirty of the districts have a musical instrument, twenty-seven 
having organs and three having Grafonolas or Victorolas, Several 
of the schools have sets of reference books, encyclopaedias, etc., 



98 School Survey Suggestfon 

sold to the school boards by agents, and no other library books. 
Forty-two of these schools have U. S. flags, four reported no 
flags owned by the school and four did not report this item. All 
of the schoolhouses are lighted by windows on at least two sides, 
while several have windows on all four sides. In this respect 
there is not a modern rural school building in the county. Mrs. 
Sizer, the county superintendent, reports that she is having a 
modern building erected for one of the separate schools in the 
county. 

There are fifty-two classes having only one pupil each in the fifty 
rural schools inspected and reported. Seventeen of these fifty 
rural schools have no pupils enrolled in the eighth grade. This is 
not to be wondered at since the schools are so poorly equipped and 
so crowded that healthy boys and girls cannot be attracted and 
held by them. They either go to the town schools or drop out 
of school altogether after they pass the sixth grade and the 
compulsory education age. 

State Supt.. R. H. Wilson in his address before the State 
Teachers' Association last November called attention to the fact 
that the time has passed when four walls, a few desks, and a 
stove can be called a school. Measured by this modern standard 
there are few schools in Wagoner County. 

There are 65 school districts in the county. In 49 of them 
the whites are in the majority and control the schools. Negroes 
have a majority in 16 of the districts and they control the district 
schools in such districts. No negroes are enumerated in 12 of 
the districts in the county and no whites are reported in four 
districts. As stated before only schools for whites were inspected 
and reported. 

During the school year of 1916-17 the enumeration, enrollment, 
and attendance by races were as follows : 

Whites. Colored Total 

Enumeration 4292 2608 6900 

Enrollment 3798 2340 6138 

Average Daily Attendance 2228 1325 3553 

There are 127 teachers employed in the county, not including 
those teaching in the city of Wagoner which is an independent 
district. These teachers hold the following credentials: two are 
university graduates; nine are normal school graduates; one 
holds a state high school certificate ; one holds a state primary 
certificate ; one holds a temporary certificate issued by the state 
superintendent; forty-five are holders of first grade county certifi- 
cates ; thirty-seven hold second grade county certificates ; twenty-flve 
have third grade county certificates; and six hold only temporary 
county certificates. 



Wagoner County 



99 



MAP SHOWING SUGGESTED COMBINATIONS OF DISTRICTS 
IN WAGONER COUNTY. 




^ 



•^ 

^ 



! A j4''^ n o d 






■$)-«> V s T -a X ,'5\.s 



It will be seen from the foregoing that the problem of 
school betterment in Wagoner County is more complex than m 
Alfalfa County since Wagoner is cut up by large streams, has a het- 
erogeneous population making it necesary to have separate schools 
for the races and has a cotton crop to interfere with school at- 
tendance. 

There are no consolidated schools in this county. 

The following suggestions and reports concerning the schools 



100 School Survey Suggestion 

are offered in hope that they may be of value to those who are 
striving for better conditions. 

VICTORY DISTRICT NO. 20. 
Mrs. Nettie Zellner, Teacher. 

A well with cement curb and pump, a board fence, a fuel 
house, two new toilets without screens or pits, a teeter-totter, 
and a one room schoolhouse are on the level acre site in this 
district. No trees have been planted. 

The school house has been painted, has a very good foundation 
and a porch. It has no entrance hall or cloakrooms, or closets 
for storage p^j.t'po>e.-i and no screened I'.rpboard for liniel-ies. It 
is improperly lighted by eight windows arranged four on each 
side. 

The equipment consists of window shades, sash curtains, poor 
and insufficient blackboards placed too high from the floor, double 
desks improperly arranged, an old style heater, water bucket, case 
of maps, globe, reading chart, agricultural chart, wash basin 
and toM'els, a flag, seven volumes of reference works, and a 
dictionary but no other library books. This school has also about 
twenty-five dollars worth of domestic science equipment consisting 
of a small oil stove, dishes, utensils, cupboard and supplies. Since 
there are no cloakrooms, this domestic science equipment has been 
set up in one corner of the schoolroom. 

One teacher is employed to instruct the twenty-eight pupils 
enrolled. The teacher has taught five years in this district but 
not consecutively. The pupils are divided into 7 grades, and the 
school is divided into twenty-six recitation periods. No high school 
work is offered. One pupil from this district is attending the Ca- 
toosa high school. I was told that no pupil from this school has 
ever completed the eighth grade. 

This district needs to provide high school work for its pupils. 
(See Group One) 

CONKLIN, DISTRICT NO. 21 
Miss Dollie Harrison, Teacher. 

This large school site slopes gently to the rear. It is not 
fenced. Two toilets painted, a coal house unpainted and in poor 
condition, a well with cement cover and the schoolhouse constitues 
the improvements that have been added to the site by the district. 
No trees are groAving on the school grounds. 

The foundation of the school house needs attention. The 
building has been painted. The entrance hall is enclosed on three 



Wagoner County 101 

sides only. There are no cloakrooms, no closets for storage 
purposes and no screened cupboards for lunches. The large 
schoolroom is lighted improperly by twelve windows arranged 
six on each side. 

The equipment consists of good window shades, old double 
desks and new single desks for pupils, teacher's desk and chair, 
good new recitation benches, an old style heater too small for the 
room, a case of maps, a globe, a reading chart, about twenty-five 
volumes of library books some of which are suitable for pupils in the 
school, a good dictionary, a good bookcase, an organ, a flag and a 
washbasin. There is no drinking fountain or water cooler in this 
school. 

The library furnishes a fine illustration of the unbalanced 
library. There are thirteen large volumes of excellent poems, 
about one dozen smaller books for grammar grade students, and 
no reference books except an unabridged dictionary. Needless 
to say, the large volumes of poetry are still clean showing that 
they have not been read. 

One teacher instructs the forty pupils enrolled in the 
school these pupils are classified in six grades and the school day 
is divided into twenty-seven recitation periods. No high school 
work is offered. Only fourteen pupils were present the day the 
school was inspected. Five horses are used to take pupils to this 
school. 

(See Group One) 

RIDGEWAY, DISTRICT NO. 25 

Miss Ethel Ridgeway, Teacher. 

The school site of this district is rough. Several native oak 
trees are growing on it, a well without curb or cover supplies 
water for the pupils, two poor toilets without screens or pits, a poor 
fuel house, and a school house in bad condition constitute the 
improvements on the site. 

The school house was painted once. It has a foundation in 
poor condition, two front doors and no steps leading up to them. 
No entrance hall or cloakrooms, and is improperly lighted by eight 
windows arranged four on each side. Several window panes 
were out which led to the suggestion that wire screens should be 
placed on the outside of these windows. The window sills are 
decaving and the school house is about worn out. 

There are no window shades to keep out the glare of the sun 
and no curtains. The blackboards are poor and too high from 



102 



School Survey Suggksiion 



the floor. The furniture consists of double desks for the pupils^ 
a good teacher 's desk but no chair, an old style heater, a washbasin 
and an old organ out of repair. The school has a flag, case of 
maps a dictionary in fair condition, and six volumes of reference 
work. The school needs a water cooler, library books, window 
shades, bookcase, framed pictures, sash curtains, domestic science 
and manual training equipment, recitation benches etc. A new 
and modern building must be provided in this district within a 
few years unless the district consolidates with some of the adjoin- 
ing districts. 

One teacher is employed to teach the forty-five pupils enrolled. 
Those pupils are classified in eight grades. No high school work 
is offered. Part of this district is rough and part is rolling, but 
the roads are not so bad but that they can be put into a state making 
transportation of pupils practical. 

(See Group One) 

TALONAL DISTRICT NO. 26 
Miss Ruth Parker, Teacher. 

The improvements on this one acre school site consist of a 
cement covered well, fence, two poor toilets without screens or 
pits, a fuel house in poor condition and a one-room school house 
without cloakroom, entrance hall, or closets for storage and lunch 
baskets. A new porch has been built recently. The foundation 
is open at places. This school room is improperly lighted by 
eight windows arranged four on each side. 

The equipment consists of old window shades, sash curtains, 
a painted plank blackboard, old double desks and new single desks, 
an old style heater, one case of maps, an agricultural chart, a poor 




SCHOOL IX DISTRICT NO. 26. 



Wagoner County 



103 



•dictionary, a bookcase with door off, two framed pictures, three 
flags, an organ, seven volumes of reference Avorks and about fifty 
volumes of library books, half of them suitable for children of the 
age and advancement of those enrolled in the school. The teacher 
in this school has four shelves in the corner of the room for lunches 
and has made them as nearly flytight as possible by using mosquito 
netting. 

One teacher is employed to teach the twenty-four pupils 
enrolled in this school. This teacher is now serving her fourth 
year in this district and the general organization and grading of 
the school show the advantages of keeping a good teacher a number 
of years. No high school work is offered in this school. 

Three pupils from this district are in the Broken Arrow higli 
school six miles away and one pupil who completed the eighth 
grade work last year is still in the school because her mother does 
not wish to send the child away from home to school. The district 
should furnish high school training for its pupils. 

(See Group One) 

GROUP ONE. 

Dist. 20 Dist. 21 Dist. 25 Dist. 26. Total 

Area (sq. miles) 9 12 9 9 39 

Valuation $166,263 $136,085 $ 82,729 $133,069 $518,149 

Enumeration (whites) 27 63 80 42 212 

General Levy (mills) 3.4 4 5 

Approved Estimate, 1917 1,085 860 798 1,115 3,858 

Outstanding Bonds 1,200 1,400 1,500 500 4,600 

In Sinking Fund 608 474 428 233 1,743 

Number of Teachers 11114 

Length of Term 8 8 8 9 

Enrollment, 1916-17 30 45 50 44 169 

Av. Attendance, 1916-17 16 16 26 25 83 

Enrollment by Grades, Dec. 1917 : 

Primary 6 15 5 26 

Eirst 3 5 13 1 22 

Second 7 6 3 2 18 

Third : 3 8 .6 3 20 

Fourth 12 2 4 9 

Fifth 7 1 11 3 22 

Sixth 6 2 8 

Seventh 3 3 2 2 10 

Eighth 2 13 

High School 

Total 30 40 45 23 138 

Number of Grades 7 7 8 8 

Number of Recitations 26 27 32 35 



104 School Survey Suggestion 

The school buildings in this group are strictly one-room schools 
having no cloakrooms. It will be necesary for many years to 
have one-teacher schools in many districts in Oklahoma, but it is 
not necessary to have one-room schools anywhere. The buildings 
are not modern in any respect although modern buildings would 
not have cost any more money than these buildings cost the respect- 
ive districts at the time they were built 

The area of 39 square miles is all level prairie land. The cost 
of transportation in this group need not be great. 

No high school work is offered in any of these districts and 
none can be given under present conditions. Only four pupils 
living in this territory are reported as attending high schools in 
other districts. The need for better and more advanced schools 
is very acute here. 

This group of districts meets all the requirements of the consoli- 
dation law in area, valuation and enrollment. It could meet the 
requirements for state aid. A union graded school would be 
a decided improvement over present conditions. 

The enumeration report shows that all of these districts except 
number 21 have some negro children as residents, there being 
a total enumeration of 69 colored scholastics in this group. No 
inspection of the separate schools for colored was made. 

GROUP TWO. 

District 24, District 36 

This group has an approximate area of 20 square miles, a tax- 
able valuation of $204,850 and a scholastic enumeration of 74 whites 
and 11 negroes. The Verdigris River on the east separates this 
territory from the districts in Rogers County. 

This group cannot now meet the requirements for consol- 
idation. The rough topography and poor roads would make 
consolidation inadvisable for these districts even if they could 
qualify in other respects. 

All of the negro children are enumerated in District No. 24. 

A union graded school for the whites can be organized in this 
section, but this should not be done until the roads are improved. 

Because of the difficulties involved in transporting pupils over 
the hills in the eastern part of this group, is would hardly be- 
practical to organize a consolidated district from Districts 21, 24, 
25 and 36 ; but it would, no doubt, be advisable to detach sections 
6, 7 and 13 from the eastern side of District 21 and attach same 
to this group composed of Districts 24 and 36. Should Districts 
21, 24, 25 and 36 unite it would then be necessary for Districts 20 



\VAGONER County 



105 



and 26 to consolidate with territory in Tulsa County or remain 
one-teacher districts. 

Considering the topography of the county and all other el- 
ements of the problem, I am of the opinion that the arrangement 
of these districts as Croup One, composed of districts 20, 21, 25 and 
26, and Croup Two, composed of Districts 24 and 36, is logical. 
Should Group One organize now, pupils in Group Two ready for 
high school work could be transferrer to Group One for the present. 



EVANS SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 27. 
Miss Josephine Sprague, Teacher. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The acre school site is rough, due to erosion. There are two 
poorly kept closets without screens or pits. No trees grow on the 
site and there is no fence around it. There is a good cistern with 
€ement cover. No playground apparatus was on the grounds the 
day the school was inspected. Three horses and vehicles were used 
to transport pupils to school. 
School Building: 

The school house has two rooms but only one teacher is 
employed to teach the sixty-four pupils enrolled. The building 
needs a coat of paint and needs to be made substantial. At present 
one can stand in the middle of the room and shake the floor of the 
entire building. Each room is improperly lighted by windows 
placed on three sides. It has an entrance hall and two cloakrooms. 
The walls and ceiling are painted blue. 
Equipment : 

The school has window shades, poor blackboards placed too 




SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 27. 



106 School Survey Suggestion 

high, pupils' double desks improperly arranged, a fair teacher's 
desk and poor chair, one poor recitation bench, a new heater with, 
jacket that had not been put up on the day the school was visited, 
a water cooler that was out of order, one case of maps, dictionary 
in fair condition, ten volumes of Home and School Reference 
Work and one New Century Book of Facts and sixteen library 
books suitable for intermediate and grammar grade students, a 
bookcase with the doors off, and an organ. It has no sash 
curtains, no chairs for visitors, no thermometer, no library books 
for primary pupils, no framed pictures, no flag, no lavatory facil- 
ities, and no equipment for domestic science, manual training or 
agriculture. 
Organization : 

One teacher, thirty-five boys, twtenty-nine girls, thirty-two 
recitations, eight grades, boys' and girls' clubs, and no high school 
Avork. 

(See Group Three) 

ONETA, DISTRICT NO. 28. 
Mrs. Mary Orcutt, Teacher. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The level acre site is enclosed with a good woven wire fence. 
A good well with a concrete cover is the source of the water supply 
for the school. The outbuildings are poor but better ones are 
planned and vnll be built soon. No trees or shrubs have been 
planted on the site. 
School Building: 

The wooden building has one classroom in the two rear corners 
of which triangular closets have been built for cloakrooms and in 
another corner a rectangular closet has been built to serve as a 
bookcase and supply closet. The building is improperly lighted by 
eight windows arranged four on each side. 
Equipment : 

New shades for the windows, library books, maps, dictionary, 
and flag have been ordered as a result of the county superinten- 
dent's plan for standardizing her schools. The equipment on hand 
consists of double desks for the nunils. a teacher's desk and chair, 
recitation benches, and an old stvle heater. The teacher and board 
in this district are making an effort to bring their school up to the 
standard set by the county. 
Organization : 

One teacher is emploved to teach the sixteen bovs and sixteen 
girls enrolled. Eight grades are represented. No high school* 
work is offered. 

(See Group Three) 



Wagoner County 



107 



NEW STATE, DISTRICT NO. 29. 
Miss Dona Jones, Teacher. 

Orounds and Outbuildings : 

The rough unfeneed site contains about one and one-half acres. 
Two poor closets without screens or pits and a fuel house in poor 
conditions are on the site. These outbuildings are unpainted. Water 
is secured from a well with concrete cover. There are no trees, 
no shrubs, no walks, and there is no playground equipment. 
School Building: 

The woden building has a very good rock foundation, uncovered 
platform in front, entrance, two cloakrooms, and one large class- 
room improperly lighted by ten windows arranged five on each 
side. 
Equipment : 

The school has two window shades for the ten windows, black- 
boards in fair condition, teacher's desk and chair in very good 
condition, three poor recitation benches, an old style heater, one 
case of maps in poor condition, a good globe, an agricultural chart, 
good bookcase, and twenty-six volumes of reference books but no 
other library books, ten framed pictures and a flag. It has no 
sash curtains, no chairs for visitors, no drinking fountain or 
cooler, no dictionary, no lavatory, no musical instrument, no 
equipment for teaching manual training agriculture or domestic 
science. 
Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the ninety-nine pupils enrolled, 
forty-two boys and fifty-seven girls. It is not necessary to 
add to this statement as very little effective teaching can be done 
under such circumstances. 

(See Group Three) 




SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 29. 



108 School Survey Suggestion 

BLUE SPRINGS, DISTRICT NO. 30, 
Frank Johnston, Teacher. 

This school is located on a very rough site that was probably 
chosen because the acre was not good for any other purpose. Two 
toilets mthout screens or pits and ^\dthout roofs, a poor fuel house 
and an open well constitute the only improvements that are 
found on the site except the schoolbuilding. Several native oak 
trees are growing on this acre. 

The one-room wooden school building needs paint, has a good 
stone foundation, no entrance hall, no cloakrooms, and no closets 
for lunches or storage purposes. The room is lighted by eight large 
windows improperly arranged four on each side. There is not suf- 
ficient floor space for the pupils enrolled. The school is equipped 
with three window shades for the eight -windows, double desks, a 
teacher's desk and chair, very poor recitation benches, a good 
globe, six volumes of reference books, and about twenty-five 
volumes of library books, several of which can be used by the 
pupils, the others being unsuited for school libraries. This school 
also has a flag, a bookcase, an organ, a water bucket and a wash- 
basin. 

One teacher is employed to teach the fifty-two pupils enrolled 
in the school. These pupils are classified in seven grades. The- 
teacher has had no previous experience. No high school work 
is given. 

The district needs a two-room modern building on a good site,. 
more complete equipment and at least two teachers. The fact that 
three pupils from this district are now attending the Coweta, 
high school also suggests that the district should pro%dde high school 
training for its pupils who cannot go away to school. This can be 
done most effectively by enlarging the area and valuation of the 
district. 

(See Group Three) , 

GROUP THREE 

Dist. 27 Dist. 28 Dist. 29 Dist. 30 Total 

Area (sq. miles) 9 9 9 9 36 

Enumeration (whites) 76 71 90 102 339 

Valuation „ $207,580 $130,730 $205,710 $223,196 $767,216 

General Levj (mills) „ _ 4 4 3.7 3 

Approved Estimate - 1,252 1.090 895 823 4.060 

Outstanding Bonds 1.400 1,200 1.200 1.000 4.800 

In Sinking Fund _..„ 758 456 344 554 2.112 

Number of Teachers 1111-4 

Monthlv salarv^ _ ^..._ 90 85 75 75 32& 



Wagoner County 



109 



Grade of Certificate State 

Length of Term (months) 9 

Enrollment, 1916-17 74 

Av. Attendance, 1916-17 40 

Enrollment by Grades, December, 1917 

Primary 12 

First 12 

Second 10 

Third 8 

Fourth 9 

Fifth 7 

Sixth : 

Seventh 6 

Eighth 

High School 

Total 64 

Number of Grades 8 

Daily Recitations 32 

Number of Horses Driven 

to School by Pupils 3 

Enumeration of Colored 

Scholastics 



First 


First 


Third 




9 


8 


8 




35 


98 


67 


274 


25 


41 


54 


160 


4 





10 


26 


4 


31 


5 


51 


4 


5 


10 


29 


2 


14 


6 


30 


5 


13 


9 


36 


1 


10 


4 


22 


6 


15 


4 


25 


2 





4 


12 


4 


11 





15 














32 


99 


52 


247 


8 


8 


7 




33 


35 


28 




1 


1 


1 


6 


12 





3 


15 



This group of districts having an area of thirty-six square 
miles of level prairie land can easily maintain a splendid consoli- 
dated school. There are only fifteen colored scholastics residing 
in these districts; therefore, there is practically no racial division 
■ to complicate the organization of a central school. The separate 
schools are practically consolidated at this time. 

By refering to the present enrollment in these schools, it will 
be noted that at least three of them should have two or more 
teachers each at this time. These three or more teachers would 
almost double the present cost of the schools, $4,060, and the cost of 
additional rooms that would be needed would go a long ways 
toward building a good central school in the district. A consoli- 
dated school formed of this group would have large classes and 
would make it possible for the rural boys and girls to secure high 
school training at home equal to that offered in the best high schools 
ef eastern Oklahoma. 

A union graded school would not suffice for these districts 
because the lower grades would still be overcrowded in three of 
the outlying schools, but a union graded district would prove 
superior to the present small districts that offer no high school 
opportunities for the children in this section. 



110 School Survey Suggestion 

SUNNYSIDE, DISTRICT NO. 31, 
Grace Elder, Teacher. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The level unfenced school site has a cement covered cistern, 
two toilets in a very poor condition without screens or pits, a fuel 
house, one piece of playground apparatus, and no trees. 

School Building: 

The wooden school building has a combination entrance hall 
and cloakroom built on the front of the house apparently as an 
afterthought. The classroom is improperly lighted by eight 
windows arranged four on a side. 

Equipment : 

Shades for several of the windows, sash curtains, poor black- 
boards, double desks properly arranged, teacher's desk and chair, 
an old style heater that affords no ventilation, one case of maps 
in fair condition, a good dictionary, a bookcase and about twenty 
library books suitable for intermediate and grammar grade pupils, 
but none for the primary grades, a washbasin, and organ, constitute 
the equipment. A grafonola has been purchased but was not 
received at the date of inspection. The school has no chairs for 
visitors, no drinking fountain or cooler, no globes or charts, no 
framed pictures, no flag, and no equipment for teaching domestic 
science, manual training or agriculture, and no screened cupboard 
for lunches. 

Organization : 

One teacher has enrolled fourteen boys and fifteen girls. 
These pupils are in seven grades and the teacher has twenty-four 
recitations on her daily schedule. No high school work is given. 

(See Group Four) 

STONY POINT, DISTRICT NO. 32, 

Arthur Secrest, Teacher. 

The equipment of this school is about equal to that of the 
average district in the county. Fourteen pupils were on the roll 
at the time the school was inspected, but the teacher reported that 
only three has attended regularly during the preceding six weeks. 
Only three pupils were present December 5th, although the 
weather conditions were favorable. 

Since the people in this district evidently do not believe in a 
one-teacher school such as they have, they should unite with other 
districts to form a strong graded school where their children 



Wagoner County 111 

may secure educational advantages such as their parents desire 
for them. 

(See Groups Four and Eleven.) 

GROUP FOUR. 

Districts 31 f Sunny side), 33 (Hidden Valley), 34, and the 
North Half of District 32, (Stony Point)... 

The area of this group is approximately thirty-five square 
miles, the valuation it about $354,124 and the enumeration of v^hite 
scholastics is 162, more or less. There are not to exceed forty-five 
colored scholastics in this group of districts. 

The Verdigris River forms the eastern boundary of Districts 33 
and 34, making it necessary to include a larger area than should 
be consolidated in a section having as many hills and bad roads as 
are found in the riparian districts of Wagoner County. But a 
consolidated school located somewhere near the center of this 
group would not be inaccessible. The center of population is west 
of the central part of the proposed consolidated district. 

Each of the districts has a bonded indebtedness at this time, 
and about one-fourth enough money in the sinking fund to redeem 
the bonds at maturity. 

A union graded district would probably be less burdensome 
to these districts at this time than a consolidated district, as it 
would call for a smaller initial expenditure for building and 
would not entail the expense of transportation over bad roads. 
After the valuation increases and the roads are improved the 
union graded school can easily be converted into a good consol- 
idated school where all of the pupils from the first grade up through 
the high school may be taught satisfactorily. 

FAIRVIEW SCHOOL, DISTRICT NO. 3. 
Hazel Best, Teacher. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

This school site is not fenced and has no trees growing on it. 
There are two poor toilets without screens or pits. Water is 
supplied from a well with a concrete cover. There is no play- 
ground apparatus on the ground. 
School Building: 

This building has been braced to strengthen it. It is painted, 
has a good foundation, a covered porch with cement floor, no 
cloakrooms or entrance hall, walls and ceiling of plaster and 
untinted, and is improperly lighted by eight large windows 
arranged four on a side. 



112 School Survey Suggestion 

Equipment : 

This school has eighteen volumes of reference works and a 
good dictionary but no other library books. It is furnished with 
good single desks, a desk and chair for the teacher, an old style 
heater, has a flag, one small framed picture, an organ, and an 
agricultural chart. The teacher has covered an unused desk with 
oil cloth and placed it in. one corner of the room for service as a 
washstand. The blackboards are good but placed too high from 
the floor. There are no maps, globes, recitation benches, and 
there is no drinking fountain or water cooler, no screened cupboard 
for lunches, and no bookcase. 
Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the seven boys and six 
girls enrolled. These pupils are divided into six grades. The 
teacher has twenty-six recitations each day. High school work 
is not offered and three pupils of this district are attending the 
high school in other districts. Although the weather was very 
bad on the day this school was inspected, every child enrolled was 
present. Two horses and one vehicle are used to transport the 
pupils to this school. 

(See Group Five) 

BULL CREEK, DISTRICT NO. 4, 
Edith Biles, Teacher, 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The level acre site has on it a dilapidated fuel house used also 
as a stable, two poor closets without screens or pits and located 
too near the concrete covered well from which water is secured. 
There are no trees on this site and there is no playground equip- 
ment. 
School Building: 

The single classroom is improperly lighted by eight windows 
arranged four on each side ; it has no cloakroom or entrance hall ; 
the walls and ceiling are painted blue. 
Equipment : 

This school has an unusually good library consisting of about 
175 volumes, about 75 of which are not suited to the age and 
advancement of the pupils in the schoool, but are excellent for the 
older people in the community. It has a ease of maps, a globe, 
window shades double desks for the pupils, an old style heater, 
reading chart, agricultural chart, bucket and basin for lavatory, 
an organ, and a flag. It has no drinking fountain or water 
cooler, no framed pictures and no equipment for teaching agri- 
culture, domestic science or manual training. 



Wagoner County 113 

Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the eighteen boys and eleven 
girls enrolled. The pupils are divided into seven grades, and 
the teacher has thirty recitations each day. No high school worK 
is offered for the pupils in this school. 

(See Group Five) 

GROUP FIVE. 

District 3, Fairview, 

District 4, Bull Creek, 

District 5, (North part) Rosebud, 

District 6, Combite, 

District 7, Pleasant Valley. 

Dist. 3 Dist. 4 Dist. 6 Dist. 7 Total 

Area 9 12 9 9 39 

Enumeration 28 41 20 26 115 

Valuation $233,021 $217,897 $140,867 $291,699 $883,484 

General Levy 1.3 1.9 4.3 2.5 

Approved Estimate 729 800 788 752 3,069 

Outstanding Bonds 1,500 2,000 1,700 1,500 6,700 

In Sinking Fund 483 1,313 726 787 3,309 

Number of Teachers 11114 

Monthly Salary 60 60 65 55 240 

Length of Term (months) 8 8 8 8 

Enrollment, 1916-17 22 21 25 12 80 

Av. Attendance, 1916-17 18 15 16 10 59 

Enrollment by Grades, December, 1917 : 

Primary 2 4 1 3 10 

First 0.4 1 2 7 

Second 8 6 2 16 

Third ....: 2 2 3 18 

Fourth 3 2 2 3 10 

Fifth 4 4 

Sixth 2 3 4 2 11 

Seventh 2 10 3 

Eighth 2 2 4 2 10 

High School 

Total - 13 29 22 15 79 

Number of Grades _... 6 7 7 6 

Daily Recitations 26 30 31 27 

By adding the northern part of District No. 5 to this group 
the area, enumeration and taxable valuation would be increased to 
approximately 47 square miles, 136 scholastics and $965,000. The 
other items would be increased in abouts the same ratio. 
The meandering course of the Verdigris River which forms the 



114 



School Survey Suggestion 



western boundary of this proposed district makes it appear more 
awkward on the map than it really is in fact. Very few, if any, white 
families live near the river. With the exception of a strip of 
timber land near the river the entire territory is level upland 
prairie having good dirt roads. A school located at the center 
of Districts 3, 4, 6 and 7 would not be an unreasonable distance 
from the remotest white family in the northern half of District 5. 
The northwestern sections of District 4 should be attached to a dis- 
trict in Rogers County if there is a school conveniently near. 

The territory located in this tier of congressional townships 
and situated between Verdigris and Grand Rivers should, under 
other circumstances, be divided into three consolidated districts. 
Should this be done, hoAvever, it will be observed that the middle 
district Avould have the benefit of practically all the public service 
corporation property and, as a result, we would have one strong 




INTERIOR VIEW, DISTRICT NO. 7. 

district and tAvo weak districts in that part of the county. There- 
fore, I have thought best to suggest that territory be organized 
into two districts following the present district lines as nearly as 
possible for convenience in organizing. A better arrangement 
perhaps would be to detach from group five and add to group six 
a strip one mile wide, thus decreasing the area of group five to 
approximately forty-one square miles and increasing the area of 
group six to approximately forty square miles. 

There are about sixty-three negro children located in Districts 
4, 5 and 7. 

It may be that a better arrangement would be to group 

Districts 3 and 4 with districts in Rogers and Mayes Counties and 
Districts 1 and 2 Avith districts in Mayes County, but such would 
break into this suggested reorganization of districts in Wagoner 



Wagoner County 



115 



County and would necessitate a rearrangement of the groupings 
south of these districts. Other combinations can and should be 
formed, however, if the interests of the districts require. But 
any proposed arrangement that does not take care of each district 
in the county will be faulty to that extent. 

This group with a valuation of almost one million dollars and 
a small scholastic population in proportion to its valuation and area 
could easily maintain a strong school in which its pupils could be 
given training suitable to their future needs and far superior to 
the training they are now receiving in the little one-room one- 
teacher school. 




SCHOOL IX DISTRICT NO. 5. 



FLAT ROCK, District No. 2, 
J. E. McElary, Teacher. 

The school site in this district should be made level and 
improved otherwise. There are two poor toilets without screens 
or pits located about one hundred feet from the water supply, 
and a fuel house in fair condition. There are no trees or shrubs 
and there is no playground equipment on the site. 

The school house is improperly lighted with six windows ar- 
ranged three on each side. There are two large cloakrooms and 
a nice entrance hall, making this one of the most modern buildings 
in the rural districts of Wagoner County. 

The school has window shades, good blackboards, double desks, 
a teacher's desk and chair, two good recitation benches, an old 
style heater, globe, ten volumes of reference books, a dictionary, 
reading chart, agricultural chart, washbasin, flag and organ. It 
has no sash curtains, no chairs for visitors, no drinking fountain. 



116 School Survey Suggestion 

no bookcase, and no equipment for teaching agriculture, domestic 
science or manual training. 

One teacher is employed to teach the twelve boys and fifteen 
girls enrolled. These pupils are divided into eight grades, and 
the school day is divided into twenty-nine recitation periods. No 
high school work is provided. 

(See Group Six) 



GODDARD SCHOOL, District No. 8, 
Charles Comstock, Teacher. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The school site includes one acre that is enclosed by a fence. 
Two very poor toilets without screens, pits, or roofs and one fuel 
house in poor condition are on this site. Water is obtained from 
a well with stone cover. There are no trees and no playground 
equipment is on the schoolground. 

School Building: 

The one-room schoolbuilding was painted on the outside several 
years ago. It has no entrance hall or cloakrooms. A small 
triangular closet has been built in one corner of the room and is 
used for storage purposes. The building is lighted by ten windows, 
four on each side and two on the rear end. ■ The pupils face the 
doors. AVhen the doors are kept open during the warm weather, 
it is impossible to arrange the seats so the children will not face 
the light. This condition should be remedied by remodeling the 
building. 

Equipment : 

There are eight window shades for the ten windows, no sash 
curtains, double desks for pupils, good teacher's desk and chair, 
no chairs for visitors, a very poor recitation bench, blackboards in 
fair condition, one case of maps, a good globe, a good dictionary 
and seven volumes of reference books^ but no library books 
suitable for pupils enrolled in the school, four large framed pictures, 
a flag, washbasin and organ. 

Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the nine boys and four girls 
enrolled. The pupils are divided into seven grades and the school 
day is divided into 27 recitation periods. No high school work 
is given. 

(See Group Six) 



Wagoner County 



IIT 



GROUP SIX. 

Districts 1, 2, 8 and 9. 

These districts situated in the northeast corner of AVag'oncr 
County are bounded on the east by the Grand lliver. Districts 1 
and 9 are irregular in outline and rough in topography. Districts 
2 and 8 are regular in outline and are level. 

The total valuation of the group, as outlined, is $803,417 the area 
is approximately 34 spuare miles, and the white scholastic popula- 
tion is 213. A strip one mile wide detached from Group Five and 
attached to this group would equalize the area of these tAvo pro- 
posed districts and would increase the valuation and school popula- 
tion of this group slightly. Should Districts 1 and 2 combine mth 
the districts lying north in Mayes County, District 9 could enrer 
the combination of districts lying south. Group Seven and District 
^ could be divided between Groups Seven and J-^ijiht or eutei* Gi'oup' 
Eight as a whole. 

On account of the hills and broken nature of the land surface 
in the eastern part of Group 6, it would probably be best for this 
group to organize a union graded district at this time. Later 
as the roads are improved this imion graded district can be 
changed to a consolidated district in whien all pupils in the- 
district will have the benefit of a graded school. However, consoli- 
dation would not be impracticable for this group at this time, but the 
transportation would probably be rather expensive in the beginning. 

Each district has a bonded indebtedness and each has in its- 
sinking fund enough money to pay off approximately one-half of 
the indebtedness. 

Forty-seven negro children reside in the districts included in 
this group. 





M-.^^'}". 





SCHOOL BUILDING IN DISTRICT NO. 15. 



118 School Survey Suggestion 

GROUP SEVEN. 

Districts 13, 14 and 15. 

These districts have an aggregate taxable valuation of $387,102, 
a scholastic population of 176 and an area of approximately 23 
square miles. By detaching two square miles from the east end 
of District 16 and attaching it to this group the valuation and 
population will be increased and the area will be made large 
enough to enable the group to consolidate. 

No separate schools for negroes are necessary in those districts 
there being only four negro children of school age residing in the 
entire territory. 

District 15 has a well built but poorly planned brick school- 
building, consisting of one room with windows arranged on all four 
sides. There are no cloakrooms or closets in this building. 

The area of this group as outlined is large enough for a good 
consolidated district in this section of the county where there are 
hills and poor roads. A union graded school would be a decided 
improvement over present conditions, but a consolidated school 
is recommended for this group of districts. 

GROUP EIGHT. 

District 19 and three-fourths of No. 16. 

District 19, the city of Wagoner, is an independent district. 
The schoolhouse in District 16 situated south of Wagoner was 
burned recently. These two districts belonging in the same group 
as District 16 cannot provide high school facilities equal to those 
provided for the chilldren in the toAvn school. The schoohouse 
being rebuilt in District 16 should ultimately become an outlying 
school in the Wagoner district or the independent district No. 19 
should ultimately absorb District 16 and transport the pupils to the 
graded schools in town under that provision of the law which 
allows independent districts to furnish transportation. 

Under the present arrangement, those pupils residing in District 
16 must be transferred to Wagoner after they reach the high school 
grades. 

Good work was being done in the temporary school quarters 
of District 16. As the board was planning a substantial new 
building, it is very probable that a number of years vnW elapse 
before the people in that district will consent to attaching them- 
selves to the town district for school purposes. 

The Wagoner district has an assessed valuation of $2,755,245 
upon which a tax levy of eight mills has been made this year for 
general purposes and a levy of two mills for the sinking fund. 
The approved estimate of expenses for the current year is $22,600. 



Wagoner County 



119 



Forty-three pupils have been transferred to this district from 
adjoining districts in Wagoner County and several pupils have been 
transferred from the "Wagoner district to the high school at Mus- 
kogee. The high school enrollment during December was 138 
The transferred pupils are charged at the rate of $38.00 per year of 
nine months for high school tuition and $18.95 per year in the 
grades. 

Only four rural schools in the county having white majorities 
levy as high a rate of tax as the Wagoner district levies. If the 
people in the rural communities would consent to pay as high a 




WAGONER CITY SCHOOL. 



rate as the people of Wagoner pay willingly, each community or 
group of districts in the county could maintain its own high school 
equal to the best town high school in the county. 

Under a county unit system of school administration Wagoner 
County rural property would all be taxed at the same rate and 
equal educational facilities would be provided for the children in 
all districts. Under such a plan a good high school could be pro- 
vided for each community. 



120 School Survey Suggestion 



GROUP NINE. 



Dist. 11 Dist. 12 Dist. 18 Total 

Area (square miles) 9 6 12 27 

Enumeration _ 56 18 74 148 

Valuation $139,378.00 $220,583.00 $168,776.00 $528,737.00 

General Levy (mills) — 5 3.1 1.8 

Approved Estimate 900.00 730.00 872.00 2,502.00 

•Outstanding Bonds 1,600.00 1,500.00 2,000.00 5,100.00 

In Sinking Fund 600.00 1,054.00 764.00 2,418.00 

Number of Teachers 1113 

Monthly Salary 75.00 65.00 65.00 205.00 

Grade of Certificate 1st 2nd 2nd 

Length of Term (months) 8 8 8 

Enrollment, 1916-17 40 27 47 114 

Av. Attendance, 1916-17 25 9 21 55 
Enrollment by Grades, December, 1917: 

Primary 5 9 14 

First 1 2 3 14 19 

Second 8 4 2 . 14 

Third 5 4 4 13 

Fourth 9 7 10 26 

Fifth 2 3 2 7 

Sixth 112 

Seventh 4 12 16 

Eighth 112 4 

High School 

Total • 36 32 47 115 

Number of Grades 7 7 8 

Daily Recitations 32 30 28 

Enumeration of Colored 

Scholastics 12 10 22 

These districts are located near Wagoner and a number of 
the pupils enter the "Wagoner high school after they complete the 
common school course in the home district. Should these districts 
consolidate the several classes would be large enough to insure 
rivalry and competition among the pupils enrolled. The work could 
be divided between the three teachers now employed, giving one 
teacher the primary, first and second grades, another the third, 
fourth and fifth, and the other the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. 
Under this arrangement, the primary teacher could devote two 
hours to the pupils in the primary grades as compared with the 
half hour devoted to them according to the daily schedules at tne 
present. In other words, the pupils in these lower grades would re- 
■eeive about four times as much attention as it is possible to give them 
in the one-teacher school. By making the proper combinations of 



Wagoner County 



121 




SCHOOL IN DISTRICT NO. 18. 

classes, pupils in the other grades would receive from three to four 
times as much time and attention as they receive under present con- 
ditions. It is costing $2,502 to operate these one-room schools 
this year. It would not cost twice as much to provide a good 
graded school for these common school pupils. If the present 
schools are worth what they are costing, it would seem that a good 
graded school offering from three to four times the educational 
opportunity now provided would be a rare bargain even if the 
cost should double. By adding the high school work, the cost %vill 
be increased proportionately. This group of districts can main- 
tain a good consolidated school on a lower millage tax than that 
levied in the Wagoner district. 

Because of the level country and good roads in this section 
of the county, transportation of pupils would prove neither 
difficult nor expensive. 



CLARKSVILLE District No. 53 B. 

Grounds and Outbuildings : 

The sloping school ground is fenced and has on it two toilets, 
but no fuel house or trees. The toilets are too far from the 
building. The playground has on it teeter-totters and basket ball 
goals. 

School Building: 

This building differs from others in the county to the 
extent that one end of the covered front porch has been converted 
into a cloakroom which is large and convenient. The classroom 



122 



School Survey Suggestion 



is improperly lighted by six windows arranged three on each side. 
Equipment : 

The equipment consists of double desks for pupils, teacher's 
desk and chair, window shades, an old style heater, agricultural 
I chart, organ, one case of maps, a good globe, a very poor diction- 
arj'', about thirty volumes of library books too advanced for 
the pupils enrolled in the school, and a bookcase. There are no 
framed pictures, no drinking fountain, no screened cupboard for 
children's lunches, no curtains, and no equipment for teaching 
agriculture, domestic science, or manual training. 
Organization : 

One teacher is employed to teach the thirty-seven pupils 
enrolled. There are eight grades and thirty-three daily 
recitations. No high school work is offered in this district. 
The district has a small area and low valuation but is rich m the 
quality and quantity of children. It should consolidate and 
offer high school advantages to its pupils. 

GROUP TEN. 

Districts 51, 52, 53B, 56 and 62, having a total area of 
approximately 44 square miles, form the basis of this group. 
The aggreate valuation of these districts is $1,073,078. The 
enumeration of white scholastics is 316. There are 213 colored 
children in this territorv. The nine white children enumerated 




SCHOOL, AT PORTER. 



Wagoner County 123 

in district 57 should be transferred to this consolidated district 
when it is formed and the territory now included in district 57 
should later be absorbed as conditions change because that district 
belongs in this group by reason of location. 

This group is laid off around the little town of Porter as 
a center. This little town is now maintaining an excellent school 
for the children living in District 52. As a result, children 
living in the other districts are seeking transfers to this district. 
If District 52 (Porter) can maintain such a good graded school 
for its children on its valuation of $510,359, it is reasonable to 
suppose that this entire group could maintain a much better 
school on its large valuation. 

The roads in this section are good and transportation could 
easily be arranged. While the group appears large on the map, 
I was told that no child would be farther than six miles from the 
school at Porter. The only difficulty here is due to the racial divi- 
sion of the population, making it necessary to maintain majority and 
minority schools. 

GROUP ELEVEN. 

Coweta, District No. 17, is the center of this group. A 
srood graded school is now maintained by District 17, and the 
Jiigh school work there attracts pupils from the surrounding 
districts. All of Districts 17, 41, 42 and 63 are included i]i this 




SCHOOL AT COWETA. 



124 



School Survey Suggestion 



group, also the south half of District 32 and a one mile strip 
from the east end of Districts 38 and 39. This gi'onp has an area 
of approximately 43 square miles and a valuation of $1,250,000. 

Should these districts combine, the consolidated district would 
be able to provide a stronger school than District 17 can provide 
alone. Inasmuch as the school now draws largely from the 
adjacent tlistricts, the people in these districts should take an 
interest in tleveloping at Coweta a school sufficiently strong to 
meet the requirements of all the children in this group of 
districts. The people in the small district Avith a limited 
■\'aluation, such as the Coweta district, cannot by themselves 
provide a school of such strength and character as their own 
children and the children of adjoining districts need, however 
hard they nuvy try to do so. 

Transportation in this section would be entirtly practical 
and Avould not entail unreasonable expense. 

GROUP TWELVE. 

By refering to the map it will be observed that this group 
of districts does not have enough area to organize as a consolidated 
district. A union graded school could be organized here, however, 
or these districts could consolidate Avith one or more districts in 
Tulsa Count3^ Consolidation should not be attempted by this 
group until the roads are improved. 

ROTHHAMMER, District No. 43. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Hamiltion, Teachers. 

The school site has been improved by building on it tAvo toilets 
Avith board scvoons but no pits, a cistern and a tAA'o-room school- 




rothha:m:mer school, district no. 4; 



Wagoner County 



125 



house. The site is not enclosed by a fence and no trees have 
been ijlanted on it. Pecan trees would probably thrive if planted 
on this site. Teeter-totter boards and basket ball goals constitute 
the playground equipment. A new room has just been added to 
this building. The original building is improperly lighted by 
windows on both sides and both ends. This building was 

evidently planned for a church instead of for use as a schoolhouse. 
The room recently added is improperly lighted by windows 
arranged on two sides. It is unfortunate that at least this room 
was not made modern. There are cloakrooms in the large room 
but there is none in the new room. 

The equipment consists of good single desks for pupils, one 
case of maps, a dictionary in fair condition, a flag, a washpan, an 
old style heater, two poor recitation benches, two chairs for 
teachers, two old style heaters without jackets, ten volumes of 
reference books and three library books. 

Two teachers are employed to teach the 63 pupils enrolled 
in the school. No high school work is given. The high school 
at Haskell is four miles distant from this school. 

A rig has been placed near the line of the school site and 
a well will be drilled for oil. 

(See Group Thirteen) 

DISTRICT NO. 44. 

This district maintains three one-room schools, Gibson, Libertv 
and Stone Bluff. All of these schoolhouses are on unenclosed 
and unimproved sites. The Gibson school is of the conventional 
type, improperly lighted by eight windows arranged four on each 
side. It has two good cloakrooms and is by far the best school- 




TEMPuRAKY Si'HUUl. AT STONE BLUl^'t' 



126 School Survey Suggestion 

building in the district. Thirty pupils classified in seven grades 
are enrolled in this school. The equipment consists of double 
desks, an old style heater A\-ithout jacket. Avindow shades, black- 
boards in fair condition, a teacher's desk and chair, -water cooler, 
one case of maps, a good globe, a good dictionary, a flag, wash- 
basin, ten volumes of reference Avorks and eight Geographical 
readers.- The Liberty school is in a temporary building located in 
the little oil town. Stone Bluff. This is a box-car type of building 
such as are found in mining centers and must be replaced at an 
early date by a better and larger building. Fifty-eight pupils 
are enrolled in this school. The Stone Bluff school is located 
in the old tovni of Stone Bluff about one and one-half miles from 
the Liberty School. This is a very poor building without 
equipment and with an enrollment of only twenty-two pupils and 
an average attendance of perhaps less than ten. 

No high school work is offered in any of these schools. 
(See Group Thirteen.) 

GROUP THRITEEN. 

Districts 43 and 44 belong in the same group. Conditions in 
the future may be such that these districts can consolidate, but 
the roads are now too poor for the people to assume the obligation 
of hauling children to a central school. Two teachers are employed 
in the two-room school now maintained by District No. 43. An- 
other teacher in this school would make it i^ossible to give one or 
two years of high school work there. 

District 44 has three one-room, one-teacher S'-hools. One of 
the buildings is in fair condition and the other two are unfit for 
school purposes, so that it AA'ill be necessary for this district 
to provide new buildings soon. It would be best for the board to 
consolidate these three schools, locating a three or four room 
building near the center of population in the districr. and employ 
three or four teachers to provide a well graded srhool for the 
children. One of the school-houses now used by the district could 
be converted into an excellent teacherage. In-as-much as oil Is 
found in this district, the valuation wiH ooufinnc to inci'ense and 
prove sufficient to sui>port a good school. Later, after the roads 
are improved and the coimtry is settled up, this central school 
could become the union graded school for Districts 43 and 44. 

HAYES CHAPEL. District 61, 

IMary Henderson, Teacher. 

This school is situated on an unenclosed site of one acre. 
There are two new toilets without screens or pits and a new coal 



Wagoner County 127 

house on the site. One of the toilets should be moved as it is too 
near the well from which the pupils are supplied with water. The 
school site should also be fenced and trees planted. It is very 
probable that pecan trees or other nut bearing trees would thrive 
on this low site. An attempt should be made to grow such trees 
here. 

It is unfortunate that the school board in this district has 
spent so much money building a school-house that is noL modern. 
The cloakrooms are too small and the building is not properly 
lighted. So much has been learned in regard to school architecture, 
the effect of cross lights on the eyes, the necessity for ventilated 
schools, the necessity of pure water, and the need of having the 
lunches protected from flies, that a school board should not build 
a school-house until assured that it is planned properly and will 
conserve the health of the pupils. A building embodying all 
the features of a modern one-room school could have been erected 
in the district at a cost not in excess of the cost of the new 
building that was erected in this district last summer. 

This district has no window shades, curtains, water cooler or 
fountain, charts, flag, musical instrument, or playground equipment. 
The library contains about seventy-five volumes of good literature 
too advanced for the pupils enrolled and about twenty-five suitable 
volumes selected by the teacher. These twenty-five volumes have 
been read by the pupils. 

One teacher is employed to teach the thirty-seven pupils. 
These pupils are divided into seven grades and the teacher has 
twenty-six recitations daily. 

SPRING HILL, District 59. 

The school for white children in this district is the separate 
school and as such is maintained by the county. The school- 
house is built and equipped about as the average school in the 
county, A fuel house should be provided as a matter of economy 
as well as of convenience. The county health officer should be 
required to inspect the separate schools and make such recom- 
mendations as are necessary to place the toilets and premises in a 
sanitary condition. 

The equipment for the separate school should be bought by the 
county next year, the county superintendent making the purchase. 
If possible, the separate school should be furnished better than it is. 

GROUPS FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN AND SIXTEEN. 

By refering to the map it will be observed that these groups 
are located in the southern part of Wagoner County. With the 
exception of District No. 61 these districts have colored majority 



128 



School Survey Suggestion 



schools. The land is generally level in this part of the county and 
the valuation is sufficient to support good consolidated schools, but 
the roads are not yet improved to that state of condition where trans- 
portation Avould be practical, -with the possible exception of the 
roads in Group Sixteen. 

Several of these districts have no -white children enumerated. 



NORTH MUSKOGEE, District No. 49. 
Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Abney. Teachers. 

This brick school-house is located on a site of one acre which 
is not fenced although located in a large pasture. The cattle 
in the pasture find the schoolbuilding very convenient as a wind- 
break. 

An open well on the ground should not be used as a source 
of water for the school. Water is carried from a distance in a 




TV\'0 ROOM SCHOOL BUILDING AT NORTH MUSKOGEE 

bucket and served to the pupils in a common drinking cup. There 
are two poorly kept unpainted toilets without screens or pits, 
but no place to store the fuel. On December 4tli. the day the school 
was inspected, a large pile of coal was on the schoolground. No 
trees have been planted on the schoolground and none should 
be planted there until a good substantial fence is provided. The 
playground equipment consists of a giant stride, swings, and 
basket ball goals all in a bad state of repair. 

The school building is of brick and has an entrance hall and 
two classrooms but no cloakrooms. The walls and ceilings are green 
and unattractive. The primary room is improperly lighted by win- 
dows on three sides and the other room is improperly and insuffi- 
cientlv lighted bv four windoAvs arranged two on a side. 



Wagonkr County 129 

The equipment consists of window shades, no curtains, black- 
hoards in fair condition, two very good teacher's desks and chairs, 
two chairs for visitors, one case of maps, a basin for lavatory- 
purposes, a large flag, a piano, eight volumes of a History of the 
World and twenty-five volumes of "Standard Encyclopedia", 
a reading chart, a dictionary in fair condition, poorly ari-anged 
double desks for pupils, two old style unjacketed stoves, and 
recitation benches in fair condition. There are no sash curtains, 
no drinking fountains or coolers, no framed pictures, no ther- 
mometers, no globes and no library books except the refrence 
books and dictionary. There is no bookcase, no equipment for 
teaching agriculture, manual training or domestic science, and no 
screened cupboard for lunch baskets. 

The enrollment consists of twenty-three boys and thirty 
girls. The teachers have divided the wor-k equitably so that each 
child secures the maximum of time and attention possible under 
the circumstances. 

The topography of the district is rolling prairie, the roads 
and bridges are in fair condition and are being imi)roved gradually. 
No satisfactory high school work can be done in this and adjoining 
disti'icts under the present plan of organization. Since it is situated 
eight miles from the Wagoner high school on the north and 
eight miles from the Muskogee high school on the south, the people 
should combine Math the people in adjoining districts to maintain 
a good high school of their own for their own children. 

GIBSON STATION, District 67, 
Lullian Shinn, Teacher. 

The white school in this district is the minority school and 
as such is maintained by the county. The site consisting of one 
acre is fenced with a plank fence. Water is supplied from an 
open well on the school ground located not more than one hundred 
feet from one of the two poor outdoor toilets, A fuel house in poor 
condition is located on the site. The outbuildings are not 
painted. No trees are on the site and there is no playground 
apparatus. 

The school building was once painted a dull brown on the 
outside and a dark red color on the inside. It has a covered porch. 
A combined cloakroom and storage room has been built in one 
corner of the room. The classroom is improperly lighted by 
six windows arranged three on a side. The building rests on stone 
pillars. 

The equipment consists of green window shades, sash curtains, 
])la('khoai'(ls in fair condition but placed too high from the floor, 
pupils' double desks poorly ai'i-anged, a teachei''s desk and chair in 



130 School Survey Suggestion 

good condition, one cliair for visitors, several poor recitation 
benches, an old style heater, one case of maps, a broken globe, a 
reading chart, an agricultural chart, seven volumes of Teachers' 
and Pupils' Reference work, ten volumes of Home and School Ref- 
erence Work, an organ, one framed picture, a washbasin, a water 
bucket, and one section. of bookcase. There is no dictionary, no 
water cooler or fountain, although I was told that a fountain was 
ordered some time ago and would be installed soon, no library 
books that the children can use, and no equipment for teaching 
manual training, domestic science, or agriculture. 

One teacher is employed to teach the seven boys and four 
girls enrolled in the school. The pupils are divided into five 
grades and the teacher has twenty-four recitation periods per 
day. No high school work is provided for the children in this 
district. 

GROUP SEVENTEEN. 
Districts 23. 45, 49. 50. 66. 67 and 70. 

This group has a large area but no child in the district would 
be located farther than seven miles from a central school at North 
Muskogee. This part of Wagoner County is level and the roads 
are very good, so the longest distance any child would be forced 
to ride to school would not be too great. 

Although district 66 is located on the west side of the Verdigris 
River, pupils from that district can easily cross the bridge at North 
IVIukogee every day during the average school year. 

While a consolidated school would be better for this district 
and Avould prove entirely successful, no doubt, a union graded 
high school would be much better than the present system. This 
group is located about half way between the city of Wagoner on 
the north and the city of Muskogee on the south. There are 
good high schools in these tOAvns. The districts in Group Seventeen 
could maintain as good high school for the country children as the 
town districts maintain for the town children. 

I suggest that the people in these districts consider both 
the union graded and the consolidated type of district and select 
one or the other in order that their children may not be handicap- 
ped later by lack of education. 



